Lewis Hamilton has accused Toro Rosso – Red Bull's sister team of slowing him down as he pursued Sebastian Vettel in the closing laps of last Sunday's Spanish Grand Prix.
Both Toro Rosso drivers, Jaime Alguersuari and Sébastien Buemi, deliberately held up Hamilton, according to the McLaren driver, who said: "They let him [Vettel] past and then they held me up for the next couple of corners. That wasn't cool. I'm surprised it happened. I have mentioned it to my team so it is for them to approach the FIA to make sure the stewards are aware of it.
"That kind of thing shouldn't happen because they are not really supposed to be a sister team are they? Often some of these backmarkers, in particular Toro Rosso, would assist with increasing the gap between us, which is interesting."
Hamilton, who had to make do with second place as he watched Vettel extend his lead in the world championship to 41 points, added: "Definitely in the last race there was some of that, all of a sudden moving in my way, causing a bigger gap.
"But it was a perfect situation for Sebastian to make sure he was let through and I wasn't. If that continues to happen then some penalties should be handed out. I just hope the stewards are wary of it, and I'm sure they'll do a great job."
Toro Rosso, which is Italian for "Red Bull", is regarded as a feeder team, developing promising young drivers for the senior outfit. As with Red Bull, they are backed by the billionaire Dietrich Mateschitz.
But Hamilton's complaint was dismissed by Red Bull's team principal, Christian Horner, who said: "Believe me, Toro Rosso drivers have often had that complaint from our own drivers as well. You only have to look at last year's race in Abu Dhabi to see what happened with Mark Webber, so absolutely not, there's no discussion between the teams.
"They operate totally independently. There are no tactics to help one or the other."
Horner was backed up by a spokesman from Toro Rosso, who said: "When it became the rule, prior to last season, that you weren't allowed to share any technical knowledge, all co-operation ceased.
"So the suggestion we would have held up any other car to favour a Red Bull is preposterous, and would never have happened."
Meanwhile, Bernie Ecclestone, Formula One's commercial rights holder, is still hopeful that the Bahrain Grand Prix, which should have opened the season in March, can be rescheduled at the end of the year.
The World Motor Sport Council is due to give its decision on the Bahrain race on 3 June, two days after a state of emergency is lifted around the Gulf kingdom.
Ecclestone met the teams in the paddock here and said: "The Crown Prince hopes everything will be fine. You know he is supportive. They are nice people there. I don't think we will have any problem.
"It's just a case of if somebody wants to get a bit of attention that would probably be a good way to do it. But I don't think from a safety point of view there is anything to worry about."
Fernando Alonso finished fastest in Thursday afternoon's practice session, ahead of Hamilton. Vettel was quickest in the slower morning run, ahead of Alonso.
Source: The Guardian
