Barrichello Criticises Safety Car Decision

Brazilian Rubens Barrichello has blasted the decision to deploy the safety car in Sunday's Canadian Grand Prix after Jacques Villeneuve's retirement and insisted it "screwed" his race.

Barrichello was on a two-stop strategy and was set to challenge Ferrari teammate Michael Schumacher and Williams driver Juan Pablo Montoya for victory in Montreal. But his hopes of opening a significant lead in the race while on a light fuel load were dashed after Villeneuve parked his car at the side of the road.

Villeneuve's British American Racing car lost oil pressure on lap ten of his home race and he was forced to abandon the BAR004 at the edge of track at turn one. But Barrichello admitted he was left bemused and angry at the decision to bring out the safety car and insisted that marshals could have pushed the car to a safe place.

"I don't know why they brought the safety car out because they could have rolled the car backwards, the BAR," Barrichello said. "That was it. I really don't understand why they...they completely did my race there.

"I was on a two-stop so I had only six or seven laps after the safety car came out. I see no reason why they brought out the safety car. The car was parked there, we have the situation where you can roll the car backwards so you have problems and so on, but the car was parked. I don't think anybody would have run into that car.

"My race was pretty much done by that. I was trying to ask the team if I should come in. They didn't say anything so it was too risky for me just to come in without saying much, but I had the gap to everyone would have made the race a lot easier for me."

Barrichello also hit out at Villeneuve and claimed that the Canadian could have done more to park the car away from the track.

He added: "I don't think there's a reason for that (to bring the safety car out). It's down to the driver to stop earlier or to stop. We all have to be sensible. I really don't know what happened, I have to see. But it really screwed the race."