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Danica Patrick and Raphael Matos had a difference of opinion after their cars slammed into a tire barrier during Sunday’s Honda Grand Prix of St. Petersburg.
“It is not exactly the ideal spot to pass,” she said after appearing to chastise the series rookie. “There’s not room for two people there.”
Matos, who won last year’s Firestone Indy Lights division, was trying to pass Patrick heading to the treacherous 10th corner, but he wasn’t completely alongside her. As their cars touched, they got locked in a fast slide that knocked the barrier back several feet.
Fortunately, neither was injured.
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Matos refused her blame.
“Danica made a big mistake passing a lapped car, and I really had a good run on her,” he said. “I was halfway up on her. I thought she’d give me enough room to pass, but she didn’t.
“It was very unfortunate and it’s frustrating (and) it shouldn’t have happened.”
Patrick, who has been known to blow up at other drivers in similar circumstances, was calm after she got back to the team’s pit.
“It’s not exactly the ideal spot to pass,” she said. “We were going into the fast chicane there and there’s no room, there’s no room for two people. ... I was looking in my mirrors and I saw him. He just wasn’t all the way up next to me.”
