Mercedes has decided not to appeal the stewards’ decision at the British Grand Prix that dropped Nico Rosberg from second to third in the final results. At least that’s the way it was until the stewards stepped in.
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Rosberg’s runner-up spot was inherited by Max Verstappen whose Red Bull team chief Christian Horner backed a relaxation of what teams can tell their drivers during a grand prix.
Hamilton led every lap of a race that started under the safety auto in wet conditions but dried.
NHRA: Antron Brown raced to his third Top Fuel victory of the season at the Route 66 Nationals, moving into the series points lead in a tight battle with Doug Kalitta in Joliet, Ill. The former world champion was docked five seconds by the stewards after forcing Felipe Massa off the track as he tried to recover from 11th on the grid, although it did not lose him a place.
With no appeal pending, the race classification stands, meaning Rosberg’s lead over Hamilton in the drivers’ standings is just one point after 10 races.
Instead, a delayed start behind the safety auto would allow Hamilton to pull away early, leaving Rosberg to deal with third-placed Max Verstappen instead.
After being given illegal advice over the radio that he says saved the auto from a certain retirement, he was handed a ten second time penalty after finishing second that would demote him to third. Eventually, it was Rosberg who managed to hold on to the position.
I managed to get past Nico and even at the end of the stint I was catching up to Lewis but I think I stopped one lap too late and from there on I just did my own race.
“I am really happy because it is so easy to come into this weekend with the wrong energy”, he said. All of a sudden it rained and it was so tricky in those conditions.
Not helping matters is the refusal of Team Boss Toto Wolff to make a definitive statement – “It always takes two to tango”. “It was hard for all of us”.
Both Mercedes men pitted for their intermediates on lap eight, ahead of the Red Bulls.
Verstappen was delighted with the way his afternoon went, despite missing out on second place.
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Rainy days indeed for the Australian.
