Rubens hits back at Juan.

Rubens Barrichello has hit out at Williams-BMW rival Juan Montoya over accusations that he deliberately held the Colombian up in his pursuit of Ferrari team leader Michael Schumacher during Sunday's Malaysian Grand Prix.

Upset that Montoya, one of his closest friends on the tour, used the post-race press conference to accuse him of deliberately slowing the second place car down, Barrichello attempted to put the record straight.

"I don't feel Juan Pablo ever really had a chance to overtake me," he maintained, "I could see him behind me, but not in a way that he could have got by.

"I think what might have given him that impression was the time I was stuck trying to lap a Minardi. At first, he would not let me by, and then he got really sideways in front of me at turn five, costing me around three seconds on one lap. I guess that's why Juan Pablo got upset.

"But it was annoying for me also, as it lost me any chance of moving ahead of anyone in those few laps when I could have been pushing hard.

"I was a bit upset by Juan Pablo's comments, because there is no way I would have wanted to lose three seconds in one lap. It was only the second race of the year and I wanted to win it for myself and the team. So, with two laps to go until I was due to pit, why would I hold him up to make him lose time? I certainly didn't change my strategy just to hold him up."

Before the start of this season, several drivers raised the issue of having to deal with inexperienced backmarkers, and Barrichello believes this problem was highlighted in Sepang.

"I think I was not the only one having problems with backmarkers and, with some more difficult tracks coming up, this will be even more of a problem," he said, "I think something needs to be done about it.

"Sometimes you see the guy in front of you is so anxious to let you past that he slows down too quickly - and that is very dangerous. The other mistake we have seen is someone who pushes too hard through a difficult corner to get out of your way, and then spins in front of you, which can also be very dangerous.

"If you are being lapped, the best thing is to just lift off a tiny amount from the throttle while accelerating, and the following car will easily manage to get by."

Montoya went on to finish second in the grand prix, with Barrichello back in fourth, behind BAR's Jenson Button. Schumacher won his second straight race of 2004 to extend his championship lead.