Nico Rosberg has been handed a ten-second time penalty for causing a collision with Mercedes team-mate Lewis Hamilton on the final lap of the Austrian Grand Prix, but the penalty doesn't impact the race result.
The German ran into the side of Hamilton's car as the Briton attempted an overtake at Turn 2 on the last lap of the race, which handed the victory to Hamilton whilst the championship leader went on to finish fourth with a damaged front-wing.
The stewards called on both drivers to explain their side of the incident after the race and after hours of deliberation, handed down a ten-second time penalty. However with fifth-placed Daniel Ricciardo more than ten seconds adrift of Rosberg, the result remains unchanged.
"Having taken note of the extensive evidence given by both drivers and the video and telemetry data, it was apparent that Car 44 (HAM) was in front of Car 6 (ROS) – i.e. more than fully alongside – and that the driver of Car 44 could have clearly made the turn (T2) on the track, if not for the resultant collision.
"Car 6 did not allow Car 44 'racing room' and hence the driver of Car 6 was responsible for the collision."
The stewards also handed Rosberg two penalty points and a reprimand for driving with a "heavily damaged car" during the final lap.
"We do note the extenuating circumstances and the fact that the driver of Car 6 (ROS) did slow down significantly and attempted to mitigate the risk to other drivers and cars," the stewards added.
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