Current Formula One season leaders Mercedes have reportedly taken a disciplinary action against their driver Nico Rosberg for his collision with teammate Lewis Hamilton in the Belgian Grand Prix.
Championship leader Rosberg accepted responsibility for the collision, calling it an error of judgement. The team handed out an undisclosed punishment to Rosberg, likely to be a fine, while agreeing to let their drivers continue racing for the world title.
Hamilton and Rosberg have been warned by Mercedes that another similar incident would not be tolerated, The BBC reported.
While Rosberg apologised to Hamilton in a statement on Friday, his British teammate responded by admitting that they have both made mistakes.
The two drivers collided on lap two of Sunday's race as Rosberg attempted to overtake Hamilton at the Les Combes chicane. Rosberg's front wing hit Hamilton's left rear tyre, damaging the wing and giving Hamilton a puncture, which eventually caused the 2008 world champion's retirement.
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Rosberg recovered to finish second behind Red Bull's Daniel Ricciardo, moving into a 29-point championship lead over Hamilton with a maximum of 200 still available over the remaining seven races.
The incident was the finale of ever-building tension between the two over the preceding 11 races. It was a consequence of Rosberg wanting to prove a point to Hamilton that he would not be intimidated in wheel-to-wheel racing, after being forced to back out of passing moves in previous battles in the Bahrain and Hungarian Grands Prix.
But in the meeting on Friday Mercedes head of motorsport Toto Wolff and technical executive director Paddy Lowe made it clear that such actions were unacceptable and laid down strict guidelines for future racing between the two.
The statement from Mercedes said that during the meeting, Rosberg acknowledged his responsibility for the contact that occurred on lap two of the Belgian Grand Prix and apologised for this error of judgement. It said that suitable disciplinary measures have been taken for the incident.
The statement also said that Mercedes remains committed to hard, fair racing because this is the right way to win world championships,, and added that it is good for the team, for the fans and for Formula 1.
