Massa: I never intended to push Fernando off.

Felipe Massa admits he is still surprised by the 'severe' reaction he received from Fernando Alonso following their brief contact whilst swapping positions in the latter stages of the European Grand Prix at the Nurburgring.

Acknowledging that much of the interest surrounding him this weekend centres on 'that' move and the ongoing spy row, Massa claims the clash between himself and Alonso was little more than a glancing blow that comes with the territory of hard racing.

Alonso passed an ailing Massa in the final laps of the European Grand Prix around the outside of turn five, the Brazilian running wide into his rival as he came past causing brief contact. The Spaniard was duly livid with Massa after the race, with the TV camera picking up a stern conversation between the two before they emerged on the podium.

Massa though maintains his innocence and claims he was merely trying to live up to what spectators had come to see.

"The battle on the track is intense," he said. "At the Nurburgring I was in front but had some problems on the car, so I still tried to maintain my position in the correct way. That is what sport should be. We had words afterwards, but for me that was sport, that is what people like to see and I was fighting for my position in a normal way. It does not mean that if you touch someone that you are going to push them off the track. That was never my intention.

Indeed, Massa claims he wasn't expecting Alonso's reaction to the collision, particularly as his rival went on to claim victory, and is hoping such matters won't take the shine off an already somewhat sullied world championship fight.

"We touched in what was a racing incident which happens very often in F1, which is why I don't understand why his reaction was so severe. I am going to keep fighting and I am a racing driver which is why I will never give up position easily, especially if it is for the lead in the race. Competition is great when it is a sport, but now politics is part of all sports and I hope the sport won't become less interesting because of that."