Indian driver Narain Karthikeyan has described double world champion Sebastian Vettel as a cry baby following their collision during Sunday’s Malaysian Grand Prix.
Red Bull’s Vettel finished a lowly 11th in a chaotic rain-disrupted race at Sepang and called Karthikeyan an “idiot” after the collision with the HRT driver that cost Vettel a place in the points.
Karthikeyan, India’s first Formula One driver, said it was a shameful response from a world champion who is not known for being particularly outspoken.
“It is really unprofessional,” the Indian told the Hindustan Times.
“For a driver who has achieved so much, to take out his frustrations on me just because he is having a difficult year is really sad. One does not expect a professional sportsman to be such a cry baby.”
Vettel is sixth in the overall driver standings after the first two rounds of the new season, suggesting his – and Red Bull’s – dominance might be over.
Karthikeyan did not blame Vettel for the collision, calling it a racing incident in which neither driver was at fault.
Formula One has been followed closely in India since 2005, when Karthikeyan raced for the now-defunct Jordan team.
He returned to the circuit in 2011 following a deal with the Spanish Hispania racing team, now known as HRT.