Once again the Mercedes teammates made last lap contact which prevented the team from getting a 1-2 finish at the Austrian Grand Prix. It’s a story that we’ve witnessed many times throughout the course of the season.
While leading the race, Nico Rosberg was only one lap away from his third consecutive victory at the Red Bull Ring. Only nine corners separated him from a win, but by turn two his chance of victory was over. Rosberg made a slight mistake on the exit of turn one, allowing Lewis Hamilton to catch up and overtake his teammate with the help of the slipstream. As the pair entered turn two, Rosberg ran slightly wide, making a collision with his teammate. Hamilton was able to escape damage, running wide over the kerbs and overtaking Rosberg. Rosberg took the most damage, as his front wing became dislodged and trapped under the front of the car. Hamilton took the victory and Rosberg was able to limp home in fourth position.
After reviewing the onboard replays, it would appear that Rosberg may have intentionally ran a little wide. The footage shows that he was turning the wheel only half way until he made contact with his teammate, at which point he turned to full lock. The team reported after the race that Rosberg had suffered from a brake by wire failure which would have explained his excess speed that he carried into the corner.
The race stewards announced that Rosberg was under investigation for causing a collision with Hamilton and also for failing to stop his car with serious damage. Both drivers were summoned to appear in front of the Austria Grand Prix stewards. Rosberg accuses Hamilton of causing the collision because he turned into Rosberg’s car, while Hamilton says that there is nothing unusual about the line that he took. After an investigation, the stewards decided to give Nico Rosberg a 10 second time penalty and two penalty points, but the decision doesn’t impact the results of the race.
This is by no means the first time that Mercedes has been in a similar position. In Canada, the pair made contact in the first corner which impacted Rosberg’s race results, as he was forced to cut the first corner. Neither of the Mercedes drivers managed to complete the Spanish Grand Prix, as a first lap collision between the teammates ended both of their races.
Lewis Hamilton leaves Austria with 25 points towards his World Championship hopes. With Rosberg finishing the race in fourth position, Rosberg’s championship lead his diminished to only 11 points, as the teams head to Silverstone next weekend for the British Grand Prix.
Weekend Summary: 2016 Austrian Grand Prix
Rosberg Takes Penalty From His FP3 Crash
Grid Penalties Cloud Hamilton’s Future Races
