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SINGAPORE: A furious Felipe Massa confronted Lewis Hamilton after the Singapore Grand Prix on Sunday, as the drivers followed up their clash on the track with an angry exchange.
Brazilian Massa accused the 2008 champion Hamilton of not using his mind following a collision as they scrapped for fifth place in the early stages.
The Ferrari driver, who suffered a puncture that spoiled his race, said Hamilton, of McLaren, had almost caused a very dangerous accident and demanded that the sport's ruling body, the FIA, penalise him.
Massa confronted his rival in the mixed zone, where drivers talk to the media, slapping Hamilton on the shoulder before spinning him round to offer a sarcastic thumbs-up, and telling him he had done a "good job, very good job".
Hamilton responded by shouting: "Don't touch me man. Don't touch me."
Asked to explain the incident, Hamilton said: "Well, there you go." He then left without commenting further.
Massa said: "How many races this year he did this? He went in the wrong direction and he paid and he never learned. The FIA is looking for sure for that, because he is doing that so many times.
"I think he is not learning. I tried to speak to him after we waited, but he didn't listen to me.
"I called to him two times, but he didn't listen to me, he went past me. He didn't even look to me... I called him to speak, but when I saw him go, I said, 'Very good job, well done. Like that you will win many championships.'"
McLaren team chief Martin Whitmarsh moved swiftly to defend his driver and said he, like most observers, viewed their collision as a pure racing accident.
He said: "Lewis is still a young guy, he is learning and he will learn from all of this. He will win races and I am sure he is going to win more championships.
"He is an aggressive and assertive driver, but he will win many more races than you or I and I am sure he will win many championships."
Hamilton's incident packed race saw him start fourth, slide to eighth, recover, collide with Massa - breaking his front wing - and make five pit-stops, including a drive-through penalty.
He finished in fifth place, after at one time running 18th, while Massa finished ninth.
Hamilton has suffered a spate of controversial incidents this year and has been accused of being over-aggressive and dangerous.
Whitmarsh said: "When you are told you are back in 18th or 19th place in a race like this on a circuit like that, it is deeply, deeply frustrating.
"So, to deal with that and perform as well as he did was extraordinary - so he should have some credit for that.
"But none of us are perfect, the team has made some mistakes and we will make more mistakes.
"We don't want to, but that is life."
- AFP/de
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