Mercedes have announced in a statement that it’ll continue to allow Lewis Hamilton and Nico Rosberg to continue racing freely despite their controversial collision in the Belgian Grand Prix
The pair collided on the second lap of the race, with both drivers’ races suffering as a result of damage from both cars, Hamilton ultimately retired when running down the order while Rosberg finished 2nd having lost time spending the first part of the race driving with front-wing damage from the incident.
Both Toto Wolff and Niki Lauda shared the same views on the incident that the coming together of their two drivers was “unacceptable” and that “consequences” will be faced.
The Brackley-based team stated that Rosberg saw fault in his part in the incident and has apologised in discussions held with team bosses and drivers at base regarding the incident, with the team taking disciplinary actions against the German.
“Toto Wolff, Paddy Lowe, Nico Rosberg and Lewis Hamilton met today in the boardroom of MERCEDES AMG PETRONAS headquarters in Brackley to discuss the events of the Belgian Grand Prix.” the statement read.
“During this meeting, Nico acknowledged the responsibility for the contact that occurred on lap two of the Belgian Grand Prix and apologised for this error of judgement. Suitable disciplinary measures have been taken for the incident.”
Mercedes also expressed their desire to let their drivers race providing there is no contact made with one another in the future, with the team citing the goodness of the team, the fans and the sport as their reasons.
“Mercedes-Benz remains committed to hard, fair racing because this is the right way to win world championships. It is good for the team, the fans and for Formula One”
“Lewis and Nico understand and accept the team’s number one rule: there must be no contact between the team’s cars on track.
“It has been made clear that another such incident will not be tolerated. But Nico and Lewis are our drivers and we believe in them.”
“They remain free to race for the 2014 FIA Formula One World Championship.”
