Massa Criticises 'Mad' Sato

Brazilian Felipe Massa branded Japanese rival Takuma Sato "mad" and called for the FIA to punish him on Friday after the pair collided during the afternoon practice session at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway.

Sauber driver Massa turned in on Sato when the BAR-Honda driver made a lunge for the inside at the first corner and the collision forced the session to be stopped while Sato's car was cleared from the track.

Both drivers were summoned by the stewards but neither were reprimanded. Massa believes Sato, who cost himself a podium place with a similar lunge on Rubens Barrichello in the European Grand Prix, was at fault.

"I think it was too optimistic and I just told him that for me he is completely mad," said Massa. "I have told the Stewards what I think about it and we will see what they are going to do but for sure they need to do something.

"I watched him in the mirror on the straight and he was far away from me and already in the turn in I watched him and he was not beside me. When I turned in I watched in the mirrors and he just came and hit me, the back of my side.

Sato, when told of Massa's outburst, said: "OK, whatever! Speak to the FIA, you know, we didn't both have an endorsement or penalised, whatever, it is obviously a different view of it. I don't care about that.

"It was a totally unnecessary situation in free practice and unfortunately we both touched. To me it is unbelievable. We were both on our quick laps and he made a mistake in the last corner and that is why his speed was well down.

"It seemed that he made a mistake in the last corner and I just reacted normally. If he is driving normally and I catch him and overtake him I shouldn't do that but the situation was very different that time."

Marshals were waving blue flags at the pair prior to the incident but Massa, who had been in front as the pair headed into the corner, said that the warnings were not clear enough.

"There are blue flags everywhere in the track, even when the guy is far away from you," he said. "Every race he does the same thing, every driver I think, so they should do something because he was completely too optimistic."