Nico Rosberg saw his chance of a sixth victory of 2016 disappear in a final lap clash with Mercedes AMG PETRONAS team-mate Lewis Hamilton at the Red Bull Ring on Sunday.
The German driver had made it into the lead with a superior pit stop strategy but a brake-by-wire issue over the closing laps saw his team-mate on his tail, and a small mistake heading into turn one that gave Hamilton a run down to turn two.
Rosberg kept the inside line, but ran his team-mate wide, with the two hitting each other, breaking the German’s front wing and forcing him to crawl around to the chequered flag, dropping to fourth as a result.
“It was disappointing to lose the race like that,” said Rosberg. “It got quite difficult on the final few laps as I had to manage my brakes and I was confident that I could bring the victory home.
“I had the inside line and we both went into the corner a bit long. I was surprised that Lewis turned in and it ultimately meant that we came together – that’s how the sport goes sometimes but it’s really difficult to lose the race in that way.”
Post-race, Rosberg was handed a ten-second time penalty for causing a collision with his team-mate, which did not affect his result, while he also had two penalty points applied to his Superlicence.
