Rosberg escapes serious punishment for Hamilton crash

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  • Escapes harsh action: Nico Rosberg gets away with a possible financial penalty.

    Nico Rosberg has been spared any on-track punishment following his collision with team-mate Lewis Hamilton in the controversial Belgian Grand Prix.

    Mercedes confirmed taking “suitable disciplinary measures” against Rosberg following what the team’s motorsport boss Toto Wolff has described as a “professional” meeting on Friday at the team’s headquarters in Brackley.

    Wolff declined to reveal the exact nature of Rosberg’s punishment, although it is understood he has been hit with a severe financial penalty.

    Crucially, the 29-year-old German – and Hamilton – have been reminded of their duties and responsibilities to the team, and that further breaches of discipline will not be tolerated.

    What Mercedes have made clear is that ‘payback’ for Hamilton was not in their thinking. The Briton was ultimately forced to retire in Spa after his second-lap collision with Rosberg caused a puncture.

    With Rosberg going on to finish second and open up a 29-point gap at the top of the drivers’ standings, it had been suggested he could be forced to yield position, either in a future qualifying session or Grand Prix, or even be handed a race ban.

    But Wolff rejected that speculation, saying: “The team discussed at length what the consequences could be.

    “But there is one thing we stand for at Mercedes-Benz, and this is racing, straight and fair racing, and we remain committed to that.

    “Both drivers are racing at the absolute limit against each other, and we are not going to interfere in the race result, or pre-agree any race result. This is not what we will ever do.

    “When the racing happens we need to react sometimes, but we will not pre-agree in favour of one or the other. This is not what we do.”

    Wolff revealed the Friday meeting between himself, the drivers and executive technical director Paddy Lowe went well as the quartet reviewed what was a damaging result.

    “The meeting reminded us again of the circumstances and that the outcome was unacceptable and painful,” added Wolff.

    “Sometimes you need situations like this to clear the air, to enable us to move forward stronger as a team with clear rules.

    “Just to add, we didn’t oblige or force Nico to make an apology. It was his decision.”

    Regarding trust between them, Wolff added: “The drivers have to respect each other, and this is what they do.

    “But you can never expect to avoid a bumpy ride when you have two drivers from the same team in a world championship fight.”

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