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Massa shrugs off Button's criticism

Felipe Massa and his Ferrari team are unmoved by criticisms from Jenson Button and McLaren about the intensity of their battle for position in the Australian Grand Prix

Button claimed Massa had pushed him off the track during their fight - which had forced the McLaren driver to take to an escape road, for which he subsequently received a drive-through penalty.

But despite Button's claims that Massa had defended too hard, the Brazilian reckoned he had driven within the rules - and said it was right that Button had been penalised.

"It was a good fight, no?" said Massa. "I was holding my position and he was not able to pass me.

"He tried many times and I was able to stay there many times. Then, when he passed me, he passed me in a not allowed situation. He had to give me back the position or they penalised him, which was the case."

Ferrari team principal Stefano Domenicali believed the stewards had acted in the right way with Button - despite having been the victim of similar circumstances last year when Fernando Alonso was penalised for not giving a position back to Robert Kubica when he cut a corner at Silverstone.

"I think that to be honest, that situation was quite straightforward," explained Domenicali. "We had it in Silverstone and I think the approach of the stewards was correct after I saw after that Jenson cut the chicane.

"The new rules are stronger. It is not just the International Sporting Code now; it is in the sporting regulations that you have to respect the line of the track. For sure the approach would have been different if Jenson would have let Felipe pass."

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