Takuma Sato says that there are no hard feelings between himself and Dario Franchitti about their final-lap crash while fighting for the lead in last weekend's Indy 500.
Sato attempted to pass Franchitti on the inside of Turn 1, but caught the white line and lost the rear, sending him spinning up into the wall. The Japanese driver remains convinced that Franchitti, who went on to win the race for the third time, did not give him enough space, but said that he does not bear any grudges against the Scot.
"Obviously, two drivers talking about two drivers going for the win...we have a slightly different angle [on what happened]," he said. "But we are OK off-track. On-track he is going to be hard to pass, like everybody knows. But I will keep on pushing. I'm 100 percent focused on this weekend now."
Sato believes that he learned a lot from the experience of racing for the win at Indianapolis, and claims that he will not hesitate to try the move again if he is given a similar opportunity to fight for the victory in the future.
"If I had the same chance again, I would do the same," he said. "But, obviously, having had the experience of that one, I would do it slightly differently. It was very close. But I don't regret it at all. I was going for the win, and there was a chance. What driver is not going to commit on the last lap of the Indy 500 if they have an opportunity [to win]?
"I feel really fortunate that I didn't trip him off after the spin. I was trying to hang in there, but if you both go off it is obviously not good. Fortunately, it was just me."