De la Rosa Criticises McNish over First Lap Clash

Spaniard Pedro de la Rosa criticised Toyota driver Allan McNish for what he considered a very dangerous move on the first lap of the Canadian Grand Prix.

De la Rosa, starting from 16h place on the grid, was involved in the clash with the Scot at the end of the initial lap of the race as both battle for position along the back straight.

As a result of the accident, the Jaguar driver was forced to pit, dropping to the back of the field, before retiring on lap 30 with mechanical problems. De la Rosa was not happy with McNish's driving.

"A terrible end to my Canadian Grand Prix and suffice to say that I'm far from happy with Allan McNish," said de la Rosa. "I made a reasonably good start and was charging down the second straight with the rest of the field when I noticed Allan overtake me on the outside as we approached the chicane.

"Given our heavy fuel load, we were prepared for this. As we got nearer to the chicane, I then tried a similar move on him and even though he was on the inside, he moved over to the outside and hit me. This put me onto the grass and into the concrete wall.

"There was absolutely no reason for him to have done that and at 330 km/h, it was utter lunacy in my opinion. Maybe he didn't see me, I don't know, but it essentially ended my race."

De la Rosa's Jaguar teammate Eddie Irvine completed a disappointing day for the Milton Keynes-based squad, retiring from the race on lap 42 with mechanical problems.