Mercedes duo lament what could have been

A ‘gutted’ Nico Rosberg said Sunday’s Spanish Grand Prix had been his to win until a collision with Mercedes team mate Lewis Hamilton dumped him in the gravel and ended a run of seven successive victories.

Formula One stewards summoned both drivers after the first lap accident between the sport’s dominant pairing and decided to take no further action.

Rosberg, the world championship leader, had seized the lead at the start from Hamilton, who was on pole position, but then lost speed into turn three when he entered an incorrect setting on the steering wheel.

That left a difference between the two of around 17kph, with Hamilton trying to pass on the inside but squeezed onto the grass where he lost control and skidded back across the track and into Rosberg.

“I was sure that it was my race to win,” said Rosberg, who would have become only the third driver to win the first five races of a season after Michael Schumacher and Nigel Mansell.

“I saw Lewis closing in and as soon as I could I closed the door with a clear strong move to make sure he understands that there’s not going to be space there,” said Rosberg. “I was very surprised that he went for it anyway.”

The German said he had been fully concentrated on the battle and had been fully aware of where the Briton was at all times.

“At the moment I’m just extremely gutted,” he said. “I’m not just gutted for myself but for everybody because we are one team and all together in this.

“I was about to win that race. What solace can I take? I’m standing here now with zero points and I was in the gravel trap,” he added.

Hamilton, the reigning world champion who has not won since he took his third title last October, said he felt a similar emptiness and had apologised to the team for not delivering the result they deserved.

“I don’t have any particular feelings at the moment. I’m just disappointed for the team. I’m sure every person in here has an opinion, but it doesn’t make any difference,” said the 31-year-old.

“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.”

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TEAM-BY-TEAM ANALYSIS (listed in championship order)
MERCEDES (Lewis Hamilton and Nico Rosberg retired): Rosberg’s winning streak ended after seven successive victories, along with his hopes of becoming only the third driver to win the first five races of a season. The pair collided while fighting for the lead on the opening lap. Hamilton had started on pole. Mercedes failed to equal McLaren’s record of 11 wins in a row. Rosberg’s overall lead was trimmed to 39 points, with Raikkonen now second.

FERRARI (Kimi Raikkonen 2, Sebastian Vettel 3): Ferrari’s first double podium of the season and Raikkonen’s third top three finish in five races. The Finn made two stops and did 31 laps on a set of medium tyres. Vettel did three stops. Ferrari closed the gap to Mercedes to 48 points.

RED BULL (Max Verstappen 1, Daniel Ricciardo 4): Verstappen became the sport’s youngest winner at the age of 18, after starting fourth, on his Red Bull debut. The Dutch driver did two stops, including a 32-lap stint on the mediums. Ricciardo started third and led the race but his three-stop strategy proved a mistake. He then had a late puncture. Red Bull’s first win since Belgium 2014.

WILLIAMS (Valtteri Bottas 5, Felipe Massa 8): Massa started 18th, on a three-stop strategy, while Bottas was seventh on the grid and did two stops. Williams are now the only team to have got both cars in the points at every race this season.

TORO ROSSO (Carlos Sainz 6, Daniil Kvyat 10): Both cars in the points but Kvyat will be feeling sore after seeing Verstappen win in the car that was his at the previous race. He still set the fastest lap of the race. Sainz enjoyed his best result so far this season in front of his home crowd.

HAAS (Esteban Gutierrez 11, Romain Grosjean retired): Gutierrez started 18th and ran in the points for a while but just missed out on his first of the season, caught by Kvyat on the penultimate lap. Grosjean retired with brake problems 10 laps from the finish.

FORCE INDIA (Sergio Perez 7, Nico Hulkenberg retired): Perez scored for the second race in a row. Hulkenberg drew his fourth successive blank, retiring after 20 laps due to an oil leak and fire which he helped to extinguish after parking up near marshals.

MCLAREN (Jenson Button 9, Fernando Alonso retired): McLaren’s third scoring finish of the season, with Button starting 12th and helped by the Mercedes’ retirement. Alonso retired on lap 45 when he lost power while 12th.

RENAULT (Jolyon Palmer 13, Kevin Magnussen 15): Magnussen was handed a 10 second post-race time penalty for causing a collision with team mate Palmer on the last lap while fighting for 13th. The Dane was also given two penalty points on his licence.

SAUBER (Marcus Ericsson 12, Felipe Nasr 14): Still no points for the financially-struggling Swiss team.

MANOR RACING (Pascal Wehrlein 16, Rio Haryanto 17): “We got both cars to the finish, which was good, but otherwise there isn’t much more to say today,” the team said in their post-race review.