Nico Rosberg believes the penalty handed to him for crashing into the back of Lewis Hamilton in the pit-lane at last weekend s race was fully justified.
Both Hamilton and Rosberg failed to see the red light at the end of the pit-lane. Hamilton smashed into the back of Kimi Raikkonen putting both drivers out of the race, and Rosberg then clipped the back of Hamilton. Although the Williams driver was able to continue with his race, he had to pit a lap later for a new nose cone. In light of the accidents, both drivers have been given ten grid place penalties for the next Grand Prix at Magny-Cours.
Talking to newspaper La Presse, Rosberg explained. “I think I deserve the same penalty, the same as Hamilton. He didn t stop and neither did I so we deserve the same punishment. I saw the red lights too late so it is natural that I get a penalty. I made a mistake.
“Of course, if Hamilton had slowed down, I would have been able to better understand what was going on. But he kept going and then all of a sudden…â€
Talking to motorline.cc, Rosberg has also revealed he believes his 10 place grid penalty will effectively kill any chance of a good finish at the French Grand Prix.
“I can almost forget about Magny-Cours because I will probably be starting in 18th or 19th place,†Rosberg said.
