Hamilton moved to take the slower Mercedes on the inside but as he did so Rosberg moved across to block him. Hamilton took to the grass, where he lost control, and spun into his team-mate, taking both out.
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Stewards summoned both drivers after the first lap accident between the sport’s dominant pairing and chose to take no further action.
The tone was set for a race that will live long in the memory after pole-sitter Hamilton lost control of his vehicle and crashed into Rosberg at turn three, taking both Mercedes drivers out of the grand prix in one swoop.
Rosberg arrived in Spain with a 43-point lead over Hamilton in the drivers’ standings.
He said he was “hurt and disappointed” for the team.
After hearing from the drivers and the team, race officials said Rosberg “had the right to make the maneuver that he did” and that Hamilton’s “attempt to overtake was reasonable”. “I’m not just gutted for myself but for everybody because we are one team and all together in this”.
“To not deliver for them, it’s honestly indescribable how gutted I was”.
“I was gaining on him at a fairly decent pace”.
Verdict: Rosberg had every right to defend, but he moved across slightly late and left no room.
“The inside line is always the line you’d go for and it was a much bigger gap, so I went for it”.
“That was the most gutting thing when I stopped, just thinking about all these guys that work so hard in this team to give me the opportunity to race today”.
And it is from there where he will determine if he needs to speak to Hamilton ahead of the next round of the championship, which takes place in Rosberg’s adopted home.
“I was aware of the situation and saw Lewis coming closer”. This is how racing drivers function and we can’t expect them to react any differently.
“I made it very clear I wasn’t going to leave any space on the inside and I was very surprised he went for the gap anyway”.
He added that he was very disappointed. “So I am gutted for everyone”.
Team chairman Niki Lauda said the “matter is over” after Hamilton apologised. We need to just stick with what the stewards decided. We could have won the race. We also know this year that it’s very rare that you do a ideal start, and also the whole combination gives a lot more pressure.
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“We have matured as a team over the past years, so we will be able to move on from this and, hopefully, fight back in a positive way in Monaco”.
