S?bastien Bourdais has hit out at Felipe Massa fol🧜lowing the pair's contentious collision in the Japanese Grand Prix today, claiming the Ferrari driver showed him no respect and 'behaved like I didn't exist'.

Bourdais and Massa crossed swords on lap 51 of the 67-lap race around Fuji Speedway, as the former exited the pit-lane and the latter headed down towards the first corner. As the Ferrari and Scuderia Toro Rosso ran briefly side-by-side, Massa seemed to squeeze Bourdais until the two cars made contact, sendin𒐪g the scarlet machine spinning.

Whilst most observers pinned the blame for the coming-together squarely at Massa's feet, it was Bourdais who was pena𓂃lised 25 seconds by FIA stewards, dropping him from sixth in the final standings to tenth - and denying him what would have been his third points-scoring result and highest finish to-date of his rookie season in the top flight in♉ what STR team principal Franz Tost described as his 'best race ever for us'.

Whilst Massa has protested his innocence over the matter - claiming the Frenchman was 'a little bit too optimistic on the inside; I was turning into the corner and then he hit me coming out of the pits, and to me it was completely wrong' [see separate story - 168澳洲5最新开奖结果:click here] - an understandably furious Bourdais disagreed.

"I did everything I could not to run into him," the record-breaking multiple Champ Car king is quoted as having insisted by international news agency Reuters. "He just squeezed and turned and behaꦉved like I didn't exist, like I wasn't there. What am I supposed to do?

"I wa🍨s coming out of the pits, he turned in, I was on the kerb and there was nowhere else I could go. I was racing him for position.

"For me it's very clear - yes, I exit the pits, yes I'm supposed to be careful and I was. I stayed inside and I did𓂃n't push ൲him out; I didn't overshoot the corner.

"I've been in this position many, many times and I never had any incidents. It's ꧙just a little bit of respect. You give each other room and then everything goes right but if you don't, there's going to be an incident.﷽"

Indeed, the contre-temps was not Massa's first controversial incident during the grand prix, the Brazilian having earlier ea▨rned himself a drive-through penalty after sending McLaren-Mercedes Formula 1 World Championship rival Lewis Hamilton into a spin on just lap two.

What's more, he had still to make his second pit-stop when he and Bourdais collided, pꦆrompting the man from Le Mans to suggest that in future Massa may wish to show a little more prudence in his driving given the prize that is at stake.

"Fighting fo♏r the championship you just don't take unnecessary risks like this," he urged. "You've got everything to lose and nothing to gain.

"He was going to pit in three laps, I was ahead of him aඣnd he was going to finish behind us anyway. Why would you even think about doing so🉐mething like that? I don't understand.

"It ruins the weekend, takes away three point꧃s for the team and gives Felipe another point - I am really happy forꩲ him, obviously.

"It was a good showing today for me, running consistently in the top five with only one ꦚmist🍬ake in what was a tough race.

"I don't know what I was supposed to do basically. I could have unrolled the r𝕴ed carpet and given him the corner. That is the only thing I could have done."

Rubbing further salt into Bourdais' wounds, Massa -🤡 who escaped any punishment over the incident - actually benefited in the final reckonin🐻g by being promoted from eighth to seventh on the results sheet.