Jenson Button reckons Ferrari may have deliberately pitted Felipe Massa so that the stewards would have no choice but to penalise the McLaren driver.
Button and Massa were involved in an exciting battle in the first 14 laps of Sunday's Australian GP as the Brit found himself stuck behind the Ferrari after on the opening lap.
And once behind Massa, Button could do little to pass despite having KERS and the added boost of his adjustable front wing. In fact, the battle between the two was so close at times that it appeared as if Button's front wing would disappear under Massa's rear.
The Brit finally did pass Massa, however, he did so off the track, which meant he had to give the position back or risk a penalty.
And with Button refusing to yield, the stewards confirmed that an investigation would take place into the incident. Moments later, Ferrari pitted Massa, leaving the stewards with no option but to hand the McLaren driver a drive-through penalty.
"I got an okay start and I was surprised to see Petrov on the inside. He forced me wide and then I got stuck behind Massa," Button told reporters. "And that was the worse move of the race, because he was so slow, and he's the most difficult person to overtake.
"He blocked very well but it just slowed us down massively. Then I tried to overtake him I think at Turn 11 or 12 and he went so deep into the corner.
"He pushed me wide. I couldn't go around the corner anymore, so I cut it. I was in front before I entered the corner and then I didn't know what to do.
"The team said 'stay where you are, we'll see what the stewards say', but as soon as Ferrari saw that happen they pitted Massa and as soon as that happens you get a drive-through.
"I don't know if that was done on purpose or not, but I got a drive-through and I had to find my way through, which was quite fun but being that far back is very frustrating because the pace was much better than that."
Button, however, got his revenge as he later came up behind Massa, bumped him wide and took sixth place off the Ferrari driver.
