15/04/2007
NEWS STORY
Sean McIntosh and Jean Karl Vernay have hit out at each other's driving following the pairs' controversial collision in this morning's Sprint race in the A1GP Shanghai, China.
The A1 Team Canada and France drivers were fighting over eighth position when they touched on the start and finish straight at the end of the seventh lap. The collision knocked off the front wing of the French car and punctured its left-front tyre, while the Canadian car's rear end was too badly damaged to continue.
Both drivers had different views of the accident, with each having strong words to say about their rival.
"Sean backed off on me and it was his fault," Vernay told A1GP.com. "During the first lap he closed the door at every corner and throughout the race he was closing the door. In the lap where we had the crash I arrived on the straight and he then came over and hit my wheel.
"To finish ninth or tenth in the Sprint race, well, we could have at least achieved the same for the Feature race. Now we are right at the back and it's not good."
McIntosh was just as critical.
He told A1GP.com: "I got taken out by France. We were on the straight. I looked in my mirror and I could see I was nearly on the wall. He had a bit of a run because I struggled a little bit to get out of the last corner and he just rammed straight into the back of me.
"It was a disappointing end to the race. He wasn't even alongside. He had a bit of a run but he still could have gone round the outside. It is so frustrating.
"I was struggling to get out of the corners from the long straights but I was doing it all fairly. I don't know what he was thinking."
As a result, Canada and France will start this afternoon's Feature race from 21st and 22nd respectively.
"We'll probably have a bit of a ding-dong on the start again now probably," McIntosh added.