Toro Rosso driver Jaime Alguersuari has revealed that his teammate was responsible for Nick Heidfeld’s damage in the Melbourne season opener.
The crash was not captured on television or by photographers, but Heidfeld had a notably poor debut with Renault in Australia and it emerged only afterwards that his right sidepod had sustained significant damage.
But the German did not know who had hit him, and neither did his team nor any significant F1 insiders.
"I would definitely have scored some points," Heidfeld told Auto Motor und Sport, "but a Toro Rosso hit me in turns 10 and 11 and I lost 1.5 seconds every lap."
Team boss Eric Boullier explained: "He lost KERS and the balance was affected."
The prime suspect for the crash was Alguersuari, who had already been blamed for running into his own teammate Sebastien Buemi on the first lap.
"It’s not the first time it has happened, so I think we (Buemi and Alguersuari) will be having a chat about it," said an angry Buemi, who is fighting for survival at Toro Rosso.
But faced with the further accusation about the Heidfeld crash at Melbourne airport, Spaniard Alguersuari said he was not to blame.
"I hit with Schumacher, but for Heidfeld I am not responsible," he insisted.
"I was right behind and saw exactly what happened. Seb (Buemi) was in corner ten fighting with the Renault and he hit him at corner 11."
Buemi did not mention the incident after the race, and it was not investigated by the stewards.