11/06/2006
NEWS STORY
David Coulthard has apologised to Juan Pablo Montoya for comments made about the Colombian driver to the British media.
On Saturday, race fans witnessed a clearly agitated Coulthard shaking his fist at the McLaren team as he made his way back to his own garage, the Scot believing that Montoya had deliberately held him up as he prepared to begin a flying lap.
Race stewards subsequently investigated the Red Bull driver's complaint but decided the incident needed no further action.
However, a number of British newspapers today quoted Coulthard as making derogatory remarks about the McLaren driver, comparing him to a monkey.
"I wouldn't waste my time by going to see Juan Pablo," the Scot is quoted as saying. "It would be like going to a zoo and trying to communicate with a chimpanzee. We speak a different language, so there is no point talking to him."
This afternoon, Montoya, who finished sixth, told reporters that he had received an apology from the Scot.
"He came and apologised this morning," the McLaren driver revealed. "It was nice.
"I said 'you haven't even talked to me in the six years I've been here so it's hard to say why you don't even trust me if I've never done anything to you'," added the Colombian.
"I was coming into the pits as he was starting his lap and he was never close enough for me to pick up the pace," he continued. "I went through the gravel, stayed right and went into the pits. He said he had to back off to make sure I didn't screw his lap, but I wasn't planning to."