"It was a shame I came out of the last pit-stop behind Rubens," fumed Montoya, a good friend of the Brazilian, after finishing second for Williams.

"I got a bit of a run on him and as soon as I moved he closed the door straight away and his pace backed off."

Asked if he thought Barrichello was guilty of a "dirty move", the Colombian shrugged. "Yeah. As soon as I went to move he moved and there was no point even trying to pass.

"There were 12 laps to go, I had new tyres so I just backed off and cruised."

Montoya, currently involved in a feud with Williams team mate Ralf Schumacher after the pair clashed at the season-opening race in Melbourne [ Images ], insisted Barrichello had cost him a legitimate shot at victory.

"At the end we backed off the revs, we backed off everything when Rubens got in the way. I went to pass him and he blocked me," said Montoya, who finished just over five seconds behind race winner Schumacher.

"If I hadn't had Rubens in the last stint, I think we could have been quite a bit closer because at the end I was really cruising."

A collision between the two South Americans in Indianapolis last year ended Montoya's title chances.

Montoya, third behind Schumacher and Kimi Raikkonen [ Images ] in the championship standings in 2003, took eight points to improve to 12 this season.

Schumacher has a perfect 20 points after winning in Melbourne too, with Barrichello on 13.

"In a non-Ferrari, it's better to back off than to go out of the race. It's better to go home with eight points," said Montoya, who will drive for McLaren [ Images ] in 2005.

"Last year I think I had 12 points after five races. I have got 12 points now from two races. It's like last year -- keep scoring points and see what happens in the end."