Hamilton says Massa crash 'deliberate'

Oct.13 (GMM) Lewis Hamilton has accused his championship challenger Felipe Massa of deliberately colliding with him during Sunday's Japanese grand prix.

Ferrari's Massa, now lagging 5 points instead of 7 behind the McLaren driver, was penalised for tipping Briton Hamilton into a spin that dropped him to the rear of the field at Fuji Speedway.

"I did the corner normally and he came back very aggressively and hit me. I think that was pretty much as deliberate as can be," Hamilton, 23, told reporters in a briefing some time after the end of the race.

McLaren boss Ron Dennis' reproaches against Brazilian Massa were more subtle, but the Mercedes chief Norbert Haug left the press in little doubt as to his suspicions.

Comparing Massa's penalty with that of Hamilton's botched first corner, the German said: "Lewis harmed nobody, but Felipe spun his direct championship rival and I doubt that is what the spectators want to see."

27-year-old Massa strongly denied that his move could be compared to the controversial title tactics of his mentor Michael Schumacher.

But he said even Hamilton's finger pointing will not hurt their amiable relationship.

"I will not do something to destroy something on purpose," Massa said.

In fact, Massa predicted that a few days of calm will alter his rival's perception of the incident. It was obvious after the race that Hamilton was furious with the events.

Referring to the stewards' controversial decision to penalise his attack at the first corner, Hamilton admitted: "My personal disappointment will be with the start and the second will be with the way I'm treated.

"Everyone braked late and I just went a bit wider than everyone else and, for some reason, I got a penalty for that. I can't honestly understand that."

Dennis adds: "The thing that really got to him was the penalty -- it really did. He was bitterly complaining about it in the car."

Santander may stick with McLaren

Oct.5 (GMM) McLaren is not yet resigned to losing its Spanish sponsor Santander, a major banking group, to championship rival Ferrari.

We reported recently that, even without Fernando Alonso in the Italian team's red car, Santander's likely switch from McLaren to Ferrari in 2010 is still on track.

The Spanish newspaper Sport said Banco Santander confirmed that, at the end of a three year contract with McLaren next year, the company does not intend to exercise an option to renew for a further two years.

But now the British newspaper Daily Mail claims that Santander would be reluctant to leave McLaren if Lewis Hamilton wins the 2008 title.

"McLaren are determined to prevent their backers ... defecting," the newspaper said.

A McLaren spokesman confirmed only that "Santander will be a McLaren partner next year".

The Daily Mail added: "It is understood that negotiations with Santander to broaden their involvement with the team are in progress."