Hamilton then attempted to capitalize on his teammate’s mistake, but when Rosberg moved to defend his position, the difference in their speed led to a nasty wreck.
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That did not last long as Rosberg swept by through Turn 1 to overtake his team-mate. “That’s it. Then we were in the sand trap”. “We do not need clear-the-air talks”. By letting the drivers race as we do, this kind of eventuality can happen but we won’t change our approach – we owe it to Formula One and the fans to let them race.
“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”.
Asked about his chances in Monaco, Rosberg said: “Of course I’m confident going there, yeah. They have lost what could have been a great result”.
Despite both of their cars failing to make it to the end of the race, Mercedes boss Toto Wolff refused to apportion blame, and instead insisted they would be free to race for the remainder of the season.
The Dutchman had to withstand heavy pressure from Raikkonen for much of final stint, but showed a mature head and didn’t put a wheel wrong.
In that period, Rosberg has won all seven races and taken a dominant lead in this year’s championship while Hamilton, having suffered a series of misfortunes including two other first lap collisions and two engine failures.
“It feels wonderful. I can’t believe it”, Max Verstappen said.
At 18 years and 228 days, the son of former F1 driver Jos Verstappen became the youngest race victor, replacing four-time champion Sebastian Vettel who had also taken that record as a Red Bull driver at 21 years and 74 days in 2008.
According to Motorsport, Mercedes non-executive director Niki Lauda has blamed Hamilton for the opening lap collision at the Spanish Grand Prix, describing the said incident as “stupid”.
After five races, Rosberg leads the World Drivers’ Championship with 100 points. Hamilton said it was “unfortunate” and a “big loss for the team”.
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“We let the drivers race, and sometimes this is what happens”, he told Sky Sports. Hamilton dived for the inside on the run to Turn Four but Rosberg defended by coming right across the track. “Lewis is too aggressive”. It is very, very tough as it was my race to win. “To not deliver for them…is a very painful experience for all of us”.
