Juan Pablo Montoya, and his McLaren boss, Ron Dennis, was fiercely critical of Jacques Villeneuve, following an incident that saw the Colombian eliminated from the Japanese Grand Prix at the end of the first lap.

Having made a mistake at the chicane - one of several drivers to struggle with a clear lap of grip in the opening laps - Villeneuve went wide at the corner leading onto the main straight, forcing Montoya to go off and into the barriers. The crash resulted in a safety car period and cost McLaren valuable championship points.

"He missed the chicane and then he just started to go wider and wider and wider until he pushed me off the circuit," Montoya told reporters.

"I was 100 percent beside him and he just pushed me and pushed me until I was in the grass," he added. "We probably could have had a one-two today which would have been fantastic for the team."

Asked if he had 'discussed' the issue with the former world Champion, the fiery Colombian replied: "No, I've got better things to do in life."

"I always struggle when people say 'I didn't see him' when in reality they are wheel to wheel and are perfectly aligned," said Ron Dennis. "I think we all know what peripheral vision is and I find it hard to believe that anyone can't see another racing car that is squarely alongside him.

Although the incident is under investigation, Villeneuve regards himself as blameless: "I didn't even know what happened," he told Reuters. "He was on the outside, but not next to me. It's a right-handed corner so you don't look left. At some point he ran out of road."

"Now that I've seen it on TV there's no reason for anything to happen," he added, referring to videotaped footage shown to him by the stewards. "I'm not worried."