The stewards of the Spanish Grand Prix opted not to apportion blame for the first lap collision between Mercedes drivers Nico Rosberg and Lewis Hamilton, calling it a racing incident.
The pair collided at Turn 4 after Hamilton got a run on his teammate coming out of Turn 3 and attempted to pass on the inside. Rosberg moved across on Hamilton, resulting in Hamilton taking to the grass and losing control of his car. The spinning No.44 Mercedes then took out the sister No.6 car, leaving both drivers in the gravel and out of the race.
It later emerged that Rosberg's car had been harvesting power for its energy recovery system on the exit of Turn 3, allowing Hamilton to close up. When Rosberg realised Hamilton coming up behind he changed his engine setting and made the defensive move. Hamilton by that stage was fully committed and was unable to back out, resulting in the collision.
Speaking to the media after his visit to the stewards, Hamilton said: "I was coming through Turn 3 and he had a de-rate -- basically he made a mistake by starting in the wrong engine setting. Before the race we have to decide what engine setting we want to start in and there is only one that is maximum power and he hadn't gone to that, he was in a safety car mode or something. So he de-rated and that meant that he lost like 180bhp.
"So I was catching him, but as I was catching him he wasn't on the racing line, but he was just one step to the right, but the gap to the left was much smaller than the one on the right, so I went for the one on the right. There was a gap there and as a racing driver when you are going 17km/h faster you go for the gap, which I did. I got my wheel and wing alongside but I had to try to avoid a collision."
In response, Rosberg said: "I was aware of the situation and saw Lewis coming closer, so I went for the usual racing driver action of closing the inside line and closing the door. For me it was a way of making it very clear that I wasn't going to leave any space on the inside there and I was very surprised that he did go for the gap anyway.
"The stewards have now decided that it was a racing incident and we will accept that, but overall I'm just extremely gutted. It was my race to win and our race to win, so I'm also extremely gutted for all my colleagues."
Asked to confirm he was in the wrong engine setting, Rosberg added: "My mode was definitely in the incorrect mode, I was down on power. We still need to go through why that was the case."
The pair first debriefed with Mercedes' bosses during the race before going explaining their sides of the story to the stewards at 16:30 local time. After investigating the incident, the stewards decided it was a racing incident and did not apportion blame or any penalties.
Stewards decision in full: "The incident concerned started when Car 6 dropped into an incorrect power mode, as set by the driver prior to the start. This created a significant power differential between Car 6 and Car 44 at the exit of Turn 3 coming onto the straight, resulting as much as a 17kph speed difference between the two cars on the straight. Car 6 moved to the right to defend his position, as is his right under Article 27.7 of the Sporting Regulations.
"Simultaneously Car 44 as the significantly faster car with, at that time, apparent space on the inside, moved to make the pass. Article 27.7 requires the leading driver to leave room, if there is a "significant portion" of the car attempting to pass alongside. Car 44 had a portion of his front wing inside Car 6 small fractions of a second prior to Car 44 having to leave the right side of the track to avoid an initial collision, which may have led him to believe he had the right to space on the right. Once on the grass on the side of the track Car 44 was no longer in control of the situation.
"Having heard extensively from both drivers and from the team, the Stewards determined that Car 6 had the right to make the manoeuvre that he did and that Car 44's attempt to overtake was reasonable, and that the convergence of events led neither driver to be wholly or predominantly at fault, and therefore take no further action."