Raikkonen nets provisional pole

Montoya was dropped to the back of the grid for Sunday's Monaco GP after an accident between Villeneuve, David Coulthard and Ralf Schumacher.

"It could have left me and a few people in the hotel dead. You have to say it was extremely dangerous," he said.

Montoya denied causing the accident and said he slowed to let Villeneuve pass.

The Colombian was punished for causing what stewards said was "a completely avoidable accident".

Montoya slowed down dramatically after being impeded by Schumacher.

Villeneuve, though, was unsighted and could not brake in time. He crashed into the back of Coulthard's Red Bull, which in turn collided with Schumacher's Toyota.

Montoya protested his innocence, saying: "I'm really disappointed that they took any action. I was going up the hill and Ralf got in front of me and nearly hit me.

I'm sure he didn't believe somebody could crash but it just wasn't necessary Ralf Schumacher

"The only reason I pulled in front was because I was behind Ralf and he slowed down. The only reason I did it was to avoid an accident. People assumed I did a brake test."

Villeneuve, whose father Gilles died in an accident in practice for the 1982 Belgian Grand Prix, said: "I'm just lucky I hit David's gearbox instead of hitting his rear wheel."

He also defended Montoya's punishment, adding: "If it stops people doing stupid, dangerous stuff then it's a good thing.

"You shouldn't go at 80kph in a sport where you are normally at 280kph and in a blind place like that. It's just ridiculous. You have to remember that there are other people on the track, that's all."

Coulthard, whose car was the most damaged, also backed the stewards' decision while Schumacher was furious.

"He held me up to say 'you held me up'. I'm sure he didn't believe somebody could crash but it just wasn't necessary," he said.

But McLaren boss Ron Dennis was angered by the decision, which effectively ends any hope Montoya had of victory.

"This is a decision where there is no appeal process so there is nothing we can do about it," he said.

"Incidents are part of Grand Prix racing. To penalise a driver and ruin his entire weekend is a bit extreme."