Mercedes’ championship leader Nico Rosberg appeared to apportion blame for the incident, which robbed him of what seemed to be a certain win, to his teammate and reigning world champion Lewis Hamilton.
After the race, Rosberg was almost lost for words, after losing what was both the most certain and most unlikely of wins and came over somewhat philosophical.
“I’m gutted. That’s sport sometimes, but unbelievable,” Rosberg said. “I was sure to win, I lost in the last lap – pretty intense.
“We were battling, and I was struggling a bit with my brakes and tyres degrading,and that gave Lewis a chance.”
Many were quick to shift responsibility for the collision into Rosberg’s corner, with Sky Sports commentator Martin Brundle immediately branding the incident as ‘100% Rosberg’s fault’. The 19-time winner himself, though, felt otherwise.
“Nevertheless I was confident I could defend accordingly – I had the inside line. I went a bit deep into the corner but that’s okay, I dictate, but I was very surprised Lewis turned in. I’m frustrated about losing the win like that – I was out front, felt great and was going to win the race.”
At the time of writing both Rosberg and Hamilton are under investigation for the collision, but Rosberg still leads the Drivers’ Standings by 11 points, although the implications of this incident could be far more wide-reaching than that, since Mercedes may impose team orders in future as speculation continues as to what measure the Constructors’ champions may take to avoid losing further 1-2 finishes.
