"I was not happy with his comments" - When Dario Franchitti disagreed with Michael Andretti after a crash with his son Marco Andretti

Dario Franchitti has raced for four teams in the top class of open-wheel racing in the US. His first championship came with the Andretti Green outfit, but the title run was filled with feuds with team boss Michael Andretti, as the pair reached a boiling point after the 2007 race at Sonoma, where the Briton and Marco Andretti collided.

At the Motorola Indy 300 in 2007, Franchitti arrived at the race with an eight-point lead over championship rival Scott Dixon. The Andretti driver looked on course to more than double the points lead by the end of the race as he had a successful first stint.

However, his race came unraveled on lap 69, where his teammate and team owner's son, Marco Andretti, came out the pits and was on cold tires. Unable to fire up the slick tires, Dario Franchitti made the lunge to get past Andretti, but they both collided, and Marco retired from the race.

On the other hand, the Briton sustained damage on his front-left suspension and conceded the lead to Scott Dixon on the restart three laps later. Meanwhile, Helio Castroneves also made his way past the Andretti driver, which meant that Franchitti limped home in P3.

This infuriated Michael Andretti, who reckoned the crash was not needed and deemed the Englishman guilty. However, Dario Franchitti was unhappy with the statements made by the team boss, and said (via Autosport):

"I wasn't very impressed with (Michael's) reaction, I have to say. At some point we'll try to sort it out the way we've always done. This isn't the first time we've had disagreements as a team. We'll talk about it and sort it out. I disagreed with what he said. I was not happy with his comments, and I've made that plain."

After a crash in Houston during the 2013 season, Franchitti bade adieu to the world of racing as he sustained multiple fractures from the incident.

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Dario Franchitti opens up on his love for cars

Dario Franchitti at - New York, U.S.A - Source: Getty

Franchitti has one of the most lavish garages in the motorsport world. While he can no longer race cars, he still loves the essence of powerful machinery and has a hoard of rare cars.

Sharing his thoughts on owning such powerful sports cars and the incentive to get one, Dario Franchitti said (via Inside Hook):

"All I ever wanted to be was a racing driver. Not a fireman, not an astronaut. My dad always had nice cars, and the passion he had was passed down. When I’m back in the U.S., I still buy Hot Wheels, the ones that are hard to find. Two of each, one for me and one for my nephew. But as soon as I was paid to race I started buying [real] cars and would reward myself with one if I won a championship. In fact, that was a massive incentive to win."

Franchitti won four IndyCar championships and three Indy 500s before retiring in 2013.