ISTANBUL, TURKEY (Reuters):

Brazilian Felipe Massa bristled yesterday at a suggestion that Ferrari might have sacrificed his Formula One title hopes in favour of teammate Kimi Raikkonen.

Red Bull's David Coulthard needled the Brazilian at a Turkish Grand Prix news conference by questioning Ferrari's failure to refuel their driver's car in qualifying for the previous race in Hungary.

Costs him points

The glaring oversight wrecked Massa's race and, after he finished 13th, dropped him behind Raikkonen in the overall standings. It also cost Ferrari crucial points in the constructors' championship led by McLaren.

"How do we know that Ferrari didn't deliberately not put fuel in Felipe's car?" asked Coulthard, adding a mischievous twist to a discussion about team strategy. "Maybe that was a team decision to benefit Kimi. How do you forget to put fuel in a car?"

Massa, sitting in front of the Scot, smiled uncomfortably and replied: "Yes, but it was not on purpose. It was a misunderstanding."

"A pretty fundamental misunder-standing," retorted Coulthard, who was Raikkonen's teammate at McLaren from 2002 to 2004. "I think it's a conspiracy to favour Kimi. Good luck."

Raikkonen, who joined Ferrari from McLaren at the start of the season as replacement for retired seven times world champion Michael Schumacher, has won three races to Massa's two.

The Finn has 60 points to Massa's 59. McLaren's Lewis Hamilton leads with 80. If Hungary were a low point in Massa's season, he was more optimistic about the return to the Istanbul Park circuit for Sunday's 12th round of the season.

The Brazilian took his first Formula One pole position there last year and went on to celebrate his first win the following afternoon.

"It's a special circuit for me," he said. "Hopefully we can repeat that, it would be fantastic.

"Hungary was a disaster for me, a disaster result... Here it is a very good track, I think our car must be very competitive and I'm really looking forward to having a great qualifying and a great race."