TOKYO: Felipe Massa has declared himself innocent of deliberately ramming into Lewis Hamilton during a heated aftermath to Sunday's Japanese Grand Prix.

Many observers suggested that the Ferrari driver turned into the Briton on purpose when they crashed during the second lap of the Fuji Speedway showdown in order to wreck the McLaren car and Hamilton's hopes of glory.

HE SAID, HE SAID 'I did the corner normally, and he came back very aggressively and hit me. That was pretty much as deliberate as can be.' - LEWIS HAMILTON ... more

But Massa, who was handed a drive-through penalty for his part in their collision, hit back.

'Hamilton braked very late and I braked very late, and then I was a little bit wide in the first part of the corner,' the Brazilian said.

'Then he had my inside line and pushed me a little bit wide in the gravel, and then I went with the wheels on the gravel but the next corner was on the left.

'Then we just touched each other, so in my opinion it was a racing incident.'

Asked if he had rammed into Hamilton deliberately, Massa responded: 'For sure not, I had two wheels on the gravel.

'I could not stop the car and I was on the gravel because he pushed me into the gravel.'

Hamilton, who had a seven-point lead in the drivers' championship before the Japanese Grand Prix and is now on 84 points to Massa's 79 after finishing 12th, raised the stakes ahead of this Sunday's China Grand Prix by accusing Massa of foul play.

Said the Briton: 'I did the corner normally, and he came back very aggressively and hit me. That was pretty much as deliberate as can be.'

Massa stoked the fires of their rivalry further by saying the penalty meted out to Hamilton for the first-corner incident was fair.

'For him - yes. But, for me, I am not sure,' he said. 'For me, it was just a racing incident, because we braked very late into turn 10.

'He tried to pass me and then I was a little bit wide in turn 10 and he put the car on the inside and I was on the outside.

'Then he pushed me a little bit close to the gravel. I put two wheels on the gravel, he closed the door and then we touched.

'The next corner was already in my favour but, because I was on the gravel, I could not do anything and we touched. That is it.

'But, at the start, he made a bad start and Kimi Raikkonen passed him. Then he tried to brake completely when everybody was in the corner. He pushed to a much wider line and Heikki Kovalainen was on a wider line as well.

'So, it was a big casino over there. For me that was a little bit too optimistic, especially if you are thinking about the championship.'

Despite their intense rivalry on the track, Massa insisted he remains on friendly terms with Hamilton.

'I have a good relationship with Lewis, and I will not do something to destroy something by purpose,' he said.

There are two races remaining: In China on Sunday, when Hamilton will take the title if he wins and Massa finishes below fourth, and in Brazil on Nov 2.

However, even Hamilton's most fervent supporters are beginning to wonder if he has the maturity to win the world crown he so covets.

Last year, he was 17 points ahead of Raikkonen going into the last two races. But he was over-aggressive in China and Brazil, leading to basic errors and eventually lost the title by one point to the Finn.

This time, he had a seven-point lead before a moment of impetuosity caused him dear.

The attempt to overtake Raikkonen when the Finn is out of championship running suggested that Hamilton is feeling the pressure far more than he has let on in the climax to the world championship.

Other errors, in Bahrain, Canada and France, have offset brilliant drives in Monaco, Britain and Belgium.

Of course, Hamilton insists his title challenge is very much on.

He told The Times: 'We are still leading and we are still going to win. My belief is as strong as ever. Next race, we have to make sure we win.'

AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE, ASSOCIATED PRESS