BARCELONA, Spain -- A racing incident. That was the verdict of the stewards following Lewis Hamilton and Nico Rosberg's dramatic crash on the opening lap of the Spanish Grand Prix.
The crash polarised opinion in and out of the paddock, with some laying blame at the feet of Hamilton for his aggressive move to the right, others saying Rosberg was wrong for how he moved over to defend. But the crash was more than just two drivers colliding as they vied for the lead, as it emerged afterwards.
After the race it became clear Rosberg, who had brilliantly passed Hamilton around the outside of Turn 1, had entered an incorrect engine mode in the subsequent two corners and was 'de-rating' on the exit of Turn 3. To put that into layman's terms -- Rosberg's car was slower than his teammate's. Quite significantly slower, too, with the stewards revealing he had been 17km/h down on Hamilton coming out of Turn 3. That number might seem inconsequential to a Formula One car but the speed differential of the DRS overtaking aid is around 25km/h and that is enough to help one car pass another, often quite easily, down a straight. At this moment it was enough to make an overtake possible.
Hamilton had to make a split-second decision. He had just lost the lead to Rosberg at a circuit where overtaking is notoriously difficult. The world champion was never going to get a better opportunity to overtake; after the race Rosberg said he felt he had victory "in the bag" from the moment he made the jump at Turn 1. A gap, one Hamilton reckoned was two and a half car widths, opened on the right. The Brit went for a gap that existed and, to quote his idol Ayrton Senna, if you no longer do that "you are no longer a racing driver".
The stewards ultimately cited Article 27.7 of the rulebook, which "requires the leading driver to leave room, if there is a 'significant portion' of the car attempting to pass alongside." They decided Hamilton had, for a "small fraction of a second" done this, "which may have led him to believe he had the right to space on the right." That and the speed differential between the cars also meant it was difficult for the stewards to find Hamilton at fault.
Attributing blame for every racing collision is hard, though it seems to be the default position in this social media age to immediately find someone at fault. Rosberg's defensive move was justified and a sign of the confidence seven consecutive wins had given him. For too long in this era of Mercedes dominance Rosberg has appeared to crumble under the pressure of Hamilton when push came to shove but the German took the race by the scruff of the neck at Turn 1 and then refused to yield to Hamilton on the run out of Turn 3. It suggests a fierier Rosberg, one who is not going to let the opportunity of a lifetime pass him by in 2016 or let Hamilton bully him out of race wins. Hopefully it is one we continue to see for the rest of the season.
The only blame attached to the German must be that he entered the incorrect mode in the first place, giving Hamilton the chance to attack and triggering the whole collision. Certainly Hamilton would not have had the speed advantage to attempt a move at that point in the circuit without that.
But of more interest was not the crash but the body language afterwards. As Max Verstappen's dramatic victory unfolded in front of the Circuit de Catalunya media centre, we watched the drivers, Toto Wolff, Paddy Lowe and Niki Lauda (who had blamed Hamilton for the crash immediately afterwards) go into the Mercedes motorhome. Daggers were being sharpened among the journalists as some gleefully prepared for the explosive fallout. Memories flickered back to Spa 2014, when Hamilton accused Rosberg of intentionally driving into him in the incident which turned the championship 180 degrees in favour of the Brit and earned Rosberg an internal reprimand from Mercedes.
When the fallout did come it was all rather tame in comparison. Toto Wolff said neither man was completely at fault and wanted to wait for the verdict of the stewards before Hamilton and Rosberg faced the media. Hamilton came first -- the last we had seen of him was angrily throwing his steering wheel from the cockpit of his wrecked car when beached in the gravel trap. But this was some four hours later and by now he had been cleared by team and stewards for any wrong-doing after the Rosberg engine mode error had become known.
The world champion was remarkably calm. Perhaps he realised he could have lost control on the grass and spun out of the race without hitting Rosberg. If that had happened, he would have left Spain trailing by 68 points -- three race wins equal 75 points -- had the crash not taken both Mercedes drivers out of the race. He explained the crash from his point of view and then offered an apology to the team which has recently moved heaven and earth to overcome his engine reliability problems.
"Firstly, I have already apologised to the team," he said. "That was the most gutting thing when I stopped, just thinking about all these people that worked so hard in this team to give me an opportunity to race today. To not deliver for them, I've been racing for them for a while so it's not too often this happens, but whenever it does it's a very painful experience for all of us. One thing is we're united and we'll all come back strong."
Hamilton denied he was apologising because he felt at fault for the incident, and it was clear he felt completely comfortable in the move he had attempted.
"Today we've lost 43 points, and there's only two of us that were part of doing that. So it was apologies from my behalf that I didn't score those points for the team. These things happen in racing but it's the right thing to apologise to all these guys, just like when the engine fails they apologise to me."
There was even a hint of a suggestion that Rosberg had forced him wide onto the grass, where he lost control of the car. When asked about Lauda's criticism, Hamilton shrugged.
"I don't have a reaction to it. Everyone can have their opinions, whether or not they're right or wrong it doesn't matter. I did apologise to Niki, as he is a part of this team and a huge supporter of mine, for letting him and the team down. I don't have anything else to say about it."
Then Hamilton left. One British journalist almost sounded disappointed at the world champion's restraint, remarking "He's really grown up, hasn't he?"
Next in was Rosberg. He was clearly more agitated, his thoughts on a victory lost.
Asked if his aggressive defence came from the attitude he had nothing to lose with such a big championship lead, he said: "Not at all. As I have said all along, today I was out there to win the Barcelona Grand Prix -- nothing more and nothing less than that. I was fully focused on that."
Rosberg was then asked about how this incident compared to Belgium in 2014, when he had been pilloried for a clumsy failed overtake on Hamilton which gave his teammate a puncture.
"I wouldn't see why there is any way of comparing this. They are two completely different things."
He then snapped back: "Do you think there is a comparison?" followed by a silence and a scowl.
It is a question Rosberg should perhaps consider in more detail. Belgium 2014 was the culmination of four weeks of resentment over the summer break which followed the Hungarian Grand Prix, where Hamilton had refused to slow down and let Rosberg pass despite being asked to by Mercedes due to the pair's differing strategies.
Rosberg let the perceived injustice of that moment, and the fact Mercedes did not punish Hamilton for refusing to move over, fester into a clumsy move for the lead at the next race which gave his teammate a puncture and helped Daniel Ricciardo win the race. Hamilton won six of the seven remaining races to claim the title, Rosberg's momentum in tatters.
That moment arguably cost Rosberg one championship. If Rosberg's frustration in Spain had anything to do with the team or the stewards not taking a stand against Hamilton, he will need to get his emotions in check ahead of the Monaco Grand Prix and not let another perceived injustice derail a championship which is still looking like his to lose.