Paul di Resta has congratulated Timo Scheider on beating him to the DTM drivers' title, however, the Scot has hit out at fellow Audi drivers' Mattias Ekström and Martin Tomczyk.
di Resta went into the final round of the German tin-top series last weekend trailing Scheider by just two points, in the end though he had to settle for second in the race and with his rival winning, finishes the season four points adrift.
Speaking following the event at the Hockenheimring, the Mercedes-Benz man was magnanimous in defeat, although he was especially critical of Ekstrom, after they got up close and personal on the opening lap.
"First of all congratulations to Timo Scheider. He deserved to win the title. However, I am disappointed how two Audi drivers acted," di Resta confirmed.
"Mattias Ekström tried to push me off track not only once, but twice. I am not known for complaining quickly or being somebody who cannot lose.
"After my second pit stop I would have had a chance to close in on Timo, but Martin Tomczyk blocked me.
"However, I am still satisfied with second place. We had a very good second half of the season and caught up; unfortunately it was not enough, but I am happy with my team and myself."
Mercedes-Benz motorsport director Norbert Haug meanwhile added that there is no point dwelling on what happened with Estrom at the start and he praised di Resta's form, which saw the youngster score more points in the last five races than any of his rivals.
Haug also took comfort from the fact Mercedes beat Audi in the teams' championship, with di Resta and his team-mate Bruno Spengler combining to notch up 109 points in total for the 'Mercedes Benz Bank/AMG Mercedes' squad.
"Congratulations to Timo Scheider and his team; Timo deserved the title. Paul drove a great race, although he was handicapped after the first-lap incidents; the damages to his car didn't make him faster," Haug stated.
"We have a good season behind us though. Our 2008 C-Class scored more points than the 2008 car of the competition and therefore our team won the teams' championship – so there is no reason to be sad.
"Thank you to the HWA team led by Gerhard Ungar and Hans-Jürgen Mattheis. Paul was a sample for consistency; in the last five races of the second half of the season he achieved one victory and four second places and thus more points than any other driver during this period.
"It was a good finale with packed grandstands - and a new record crowd, and so it was also a very good end of the season."
