Nico Rosberg escapes penalties after Bahrain Grand Prix

After reaping the rewards of winning his maiden Grand Prix last weekend in China, Nico Rosberg came under the spotlight of the race stewards this weekend in Bahrain after questionable defending against Lewis Hamilton and Fernando Alonso.

At the time, the race stewards decided the review the various incidents after the race, a decision which could have affected the outcome of Rosberg’s race with either a time penalty or a grid penalty for the next race in Spain. However, the German has escaped such penalties, with the race stewards satisfied that no driver breached the rules in any such way.

The first of the two incidents occurred on lap 10, only moments after Lewis Hamilton suffered disastrous pit-stop. The British driver came out in close proximity of Nico Rosberg, and made a move on the Mercedes driver. Rosberg defended his position as strongly as possible, appearing to force Hamilton momentarily off the track and onto the run-off area.

After having heard from both drivers’, including team representatives from both Mercedes and McLaren, and having examined telemetry and video footage, the race stewards made their decision to not penalize Nico Rosberg. The race stewards stated that Rosberg made his defensive move in a constant and continuous straight manner, and that Rosberg made his move to the right prior to Hamilton making the same move. The race stewards continued by explaining that if Hamilton’s car had been a significant portion alongside Rosberg, the move many not have been considered legitimate.

The second incident between Rosberg and Alonso occurred on lap 26, and was also seen in the same light by the race stewards, with similar reasons behind the decision as to the Hamilton incident. As well as stating that Rosberg commenced his move in a constant and continuous straight manner, they also stated that no part of Alonso’s Ferrari was alongside Rosberg during the incident.

Nico Rosberg finally finished the Bahrain Grand Prix 5th, with Alonso and Hamilton coming home 7th and 8th respectively after a tough race. The three drivers’ will now be able to catch their breath after an exhilarating couple of races, and prepare for the Mugello test before the Spanish Grand Prix.

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