Coulthard unhappy with Button

The friendship between British countrymen David Coulthard and Jenson Button was tested after the pair collided during the Bahrain Grand Prix recently.

Along with Lewis Hamilton and Adrian Sutil`s friendship, the pair are perhaps the closest of any drivers in the paddock; at European races, they always park their motor homes next to each other.

But in Bahrain nearly three weeks ago, Button openly questioned his mate`s tactics after retiring with damage, following a failed overtaking move on Coulthard, the Scottish veteran.

“We discuss in our (GPDA) meetings that you shouldn`t move across in the braking zone and he moved, and I had nowhere to go,” the Briton said.

But on Monday, Coulthard scolded Button, accusing him of not telling the media the full story.

Coulthard said he was `surprised and disappointed` about Button`s accusations.

“I`m disappointed because we`re friends, and normally with a friend you would give them the benefit of the doubt until you`d had the chance to talk to each other,” he wrote in his ITV column.

Coulthard explained that Button later phoned him, apologising and explaining that the crash was caused because he lost control of his car.

“There was no `you did this, you did that`,” he added.

“So either he was in more reflective mood than he had been straight after the race, or he simply didn`t want to say the same thing to me as he had publicly,” Coulthard said.

Coulthard said he is growing `weary` of arguing about crashes “because I think other drivers have got to take responsibility for their actions as well.”

“The thing that`s most disappointing is that when I screw up I admit my mistake, but when other people cause an accident with me, they seem not to,” Coulthard said.

“I feel it`s a bit unfair that I`m made out to be some sort of crasher when I`ve done 230-plus Grand Prix and generally kept my nose pretty clean.”

Coulthard concluded that he has no intention of changing his approach to racing because of his crashes this year, including the one with Felipe Massa at Melbourne.

“I don`t want to crash with any of these people

21.4.2008   ▪ Formula One    ▪ Button, Coulthard    ▪ en.f1-live.com