Hakkinen lost his nerve, says Abt.

Christian Abt has hit out at ex-F1 ace, Mika Hakkinen following their coming together at the EuroSpeedway on Sunday, round nine in the DTM.

Speaking at the finish, Abt, who drives for Audi, reckoned that the Finn had quite simply just got overly 'nervous'.

"On the first lap, things were going well and I was able to make up several places," reflected Abt, who started from P19.

"Then [Rinaldo] Capello pushed a bit too hard and spun me.

"Even after that my lap times were okay - unfortunately, though, a two-time world champion [Hakkinen] behind me got nervous - and pushed me off the track."

The incident which occurred on lap 14 saw both cars spin out.

However while Abt was forced to retire, Hakkinen got going again in his Mercedes and eventually came home twelfth. Not surprisingly, Mika saw things slightly differently to Abt...

"I'm disappointed because starting fourth I had expected more," noted the Finn.

"After Christian Abt had hit my car, something was wrong and I was not able to push anymore."