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Former Formula One world champion Nico Rosberg was forced to backtrack on his admission after Ferrari's Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc's latest on-track battle. The seven-time world champion had qualified on pole for the Mexico City Grand Prix but was forced to rue a lost victory as Max Verstappen took home maximum points.
Hamilton said post-race that Ferrari needed to have "serious talks" after his race was placed in turmoil during the first lap. Leclerc had a strong start and was fighting his teammate, and race leader, before the 29-year-old went off on to the grass and returned in the lead but was later handed a five-second time penalty. Hamilton moved back into contention for top spot but couldn't wrestle the lead back off Verstappen and the seven-time Drivers' Champion was forced to settle for second.
Rosberg had initially argued that Leclerc often receives the blame but in Mexico City, the judgement was misplaced compared to Hamilton, formerly a rival of the retired German driver. He said: "Interestingly, it's always Charles' fault, isn't it? It's never Lewis's fault. In the last couple of times, in Monza it was Charles, here it was Charles…"
However, Rosberg was quick to U-turn on his initial comment after his broadcast colleagues remained and reviewing the footage. He said: "Leclerc was a bit too aggressive there [at Turns 1 and 2], I'd have to say. Leclerc was ahead going in, I think you've got to keep it now.
"The problem is that Leclerc was only ahead on the outside because he just braked way too late… wow, this is a tough one. My final verdict is that Leclerc would deserve to lose a bit of race time and probably get a five-second penalty.
"I've changed my mind! I think I would go for that now. [10 seconds] would be too much, especially because Lewis also went off. I think five would probably be the fairest at the moment."
An angry Hamilton said: "In the drivers' briefing we discussed that, as soon as you go off at turn one, you have to give the position back. Last year, I got a 10-second penalty for that same move that he did. Ultimately, it was that which lost us the win today. We have to have some serious talks behind the scenes, for sure."
Leclerc defended his actions on the opening lap. He said: "Turn one and two, there was a gap and when you're fighting for a win, I will always go for it. Turn four and five, I braked as late as I possibly could and I guess Lewis did the same. We both didn't make the corner.
"Then, in my head, it was about giving the position back. But then Lewis got overtaken by Max and I thought it was worth it to try and see what happened, because it was a very confusing situation. I tried to ask on the radio, but I just kept my position. I'm sure Lewis definitely hated those first few laps. We'll discuss it."
Kimi Antonelli's third-place finish ensured that he wrapped up the Drivers' Championship and was left visibly emotional after the tremendous feat in North America. He has the 119-point lead over nearest challenger Max Verstappen and a whopping 121 gulf to Hamilton.
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