Monteiro: I had a Sato 'kamikaze' special.

Tiago Monteiro has branded Takuma Sato a 'kamikaze' after the two collided in the United States Grand Prix at Indianapolis, forcing them both to retire.

Having both emerged unscathed from the first corner pile-up that allowed them to vault up the field to be ninth and eleventh by the end of the first lap, Sato was attempting to follow David Coulthard past the MF1 at the restart when the two came together at the chicane and destroyed their chances of a potentially strong result.

It was an incident though that neither could agree blame on, with Monteiro insisting that Sato made an 'unrealistic' move on him, while the Super Aguri driver was adamant he was left with nowhere to go when Monteiro closed the door.

Indeed, Monteiro was especially incensed after managing to avoid the first corner melee on a weekend when their MF1 car has proved the quickest it has been all year. Furthermore, he was disappointed not to be able to repeat the point winning exploits of his 2005 race.

"What a difference a year makes," he said. "As I was watching the 2006 podium, about to leave the track, I was really disappointed. I had made such a good start ahead of my team-mate Christijan Albers, and I was feeling really good. Then suddenly there was a big mechanical storm ahead of me on the track. Pieces of cars were flying everywhere. I couldn't see anything. All I knew was that there had been a huge problem on the track and that soon the pace-car would be out.

"Luckily, I saw a piece of grass ahead of me and cut through and escaped the scene and was able to get safely back on to the track. To be honest, it was a really good deal for me and I was very lucky to escape unscathed.

"After the six laps behind the safety car, in ninth position, the race finally restarted. I was feeling confident. The car was behaving well. I had good grip. I was not making any plans. Just taking the pace constantly and suddenly... Takuma Sato reserved for me one of his special unrealistic moves. He suddenly locked his wheels like a kamikaze going into Turn 1 on lap seven. He braked very late, and my car suffered extensive sidepod damage. Imagine how disappointed I am."

Monteiro claims he also went to talk with Sato over the incident but was met with opposition over his view of events, calling their encounter 'a waste of time'.

"I was expecting his excuses, but nothing came. So I went to him and we had a discussion. I told him my point of view. Nevertheless, it was a waste of time. My dream to finish Indianapolis a second time was over. Frankly, with an excellent weekend behind us up until that point, we did not deserve this end to the race."