Tuesday October 16th, 2001
Brazilian Rubens Barrichello has slammed Williams driver Ralf Schumacher following their fight for fifth place at the Japanese Grand Prix last Sunday.
The Ferrari driver had a hard time overtaking the German on lap 32 of the Suzuka race. Barrichello dived down the inside of Schumacher at the final turn, but the Williams driver cut across the chicane and stayed ahead of his rival.
Barrichello, who finished in fifth place while Schumacher was sixth, eventually moved in front at the end of the straight.
The Brazilian driver, who needed to win the race in order to have a chance of finishing second in the Championship behind teammate Michael Schumacher, has called Ralf a "bad loser" and claims that he enjoyed much more fighting against his Williams teammate Juan Pablo Montoya.
"It's much nicer to fight against Montoya than Ralf," Barrichello told Autosport.com. "I think Ralf hasn't been honest, so it's just a shame. I just think he's a bad loser, that's all.
"I was already much more in front by the time he turned in, so I would say he had to respect that. By the time that he saw he couldn't turn, he came off the brakes and went straight. And that's where I thought it was a bit unfair.
"But in the end he got a penalty, and we both finished fifth and sixth, which is not the greatest thing in the world. But I would rather finish fifth than sixth."
Published at 13:41:49 GMT