"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, 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 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 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."