Felipe Massa rebuffed accusations he had deliberately collided with world championship leader Lewis Hamilton at the Japanese Grand Prix.
Hamilton, looking to move into fifth place having dropped from pole after a bad start, was spun by Massa on the second lap after the Brazilian had ran over the kerbs trying to regain his place.
The Ferrari driver was hit with a drive-through penalty for the incident while Hamilton was also penalised after he had earlier impeded Kimi Raikkonen.
But Massa insisted he could do nothing to avoid the collision.
"With two wheels on the gravel I could not stop the car and I was there because he (Hamilton) pushed me there," he said.
"For me it was a racing incident because he broke late but then I was a little bit wide in the turn.
"He put the car inside and I was outside but then he pushed me a little bit onto the gravel and then I put two wheels on the gravel and he closed and we touched."
Consequently Massa finished eighth in the race before being promoted to seventh after Sebastien Bourdais, who was sixth, was handed a 25-second time penalty for a collision with the former late on.
Hamilton, meanwhile, finished outside the points as Renault's Fernando Alonso won his second successive race.
Massa now trails Hamilton by just five points with two races remaining.
But the 27-year-old remained grounded over his prospects in China and Brazil.
"It could have been better but it could have been worse looking at where we started and where Lewis started," added Massa.
"We cannot leave here saying it was a disaster, it could have been better in terms of points but we at least finished in front (of the McLarens).
"You have to think race-by-race. Maybe you come here and you have a difficult result but in the next race you are very strong again.
"For me it will be two very difficult races. They (McLaren) can be very strong but so can we and we need to believe that."
Massa's team-mate Raikkonen finished third but the Finn believes he should have done even better.
The defending champion was involved in a thrilling tussle with Robert Kubica for second place, a battle the BMW Sauber driver eventually came out on top.
"Even if a third place has put an end to a run of poor results I am a bit disappointed because we had a means to win," said Raikkonen.
"I tried several times to attack Robert but he defended his position well.
"In any case I am happy to brought home important points for the team."
Ferrari lead McLaren by seven points in the constructor standings with two races remaining.
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