SPIELBERG, Austria -- Nico Rosberg has received a 10-second penalty and two penalty points on his superlicence for his collision with Lewis Hamilton at the Austrian Grand Prix.
The penalty does not impact on his finishing position, but means the stewards felt he was to blame for the incident after failing to leave "racing room". Rosberg also received a reprimand for continuing with a damaged car to finish fourth on the final lap.
Regarding the collision, the stewards wrote: "Having taken note of the extensive evidence given by both drivers and the video and telemetry data, it was apparent that Car 44 (HAM) was in front of Car 6 (ROS) - i.e. more than fully alongside - and that the driver of Car 44 could have clearly made the turn (T2) on the track, if not for the resultant collision. Car 6 did not allow Car 44 "racing room" and hence the driver of Car 6 was responsible for the collision."
In relation to the damaged front wing, the stewards added: "Article 22.11of the Formula One Sporting Regulations requires a driver with serious mechanical difficulties to leave the track as soon as it is safe to do so. We do note the extenuating circumstances and the fact that the driver of Car 6 (ROS) did slow down significantly and attempted to mitigate the risk to other drivers and cars.
The decisions mean Rosberg retains fourth place (Daniel Ricciardo finished 14 seconds behind the Mercedes driver) and therefore also retains his 11-point lead over Hamilton in the drivers' championship. The penalty points are his first of the 12 month period (with 12 resulting in a race ban) and the reprimand is also his first of the season (with three constituting a 10-place grid penalty).