Nico Rosberg had no doubts when analyzing the crash between Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc at the Italian Grand Prix of Formula 1 last Sunday (6). For the 2016 world champion, who was Hamilton’s teammate at Mercedes, the move at the second corner of Monza had Leclerc as responsible.
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Hamilton started sixth and managed to overtake Leclerc at turn 1. However, shortly after, the Monegasque retaliated at turn 2 and ended up pushing his teammate off the track. One lap later, it was Leclerc’s turn to go off track, crash hard at the Parabolica, and retire from the race.
The dispute generated a lot of discussion, including over Ferrari’s radio, and also divided opinions among F1 commentators. Martin Brundle, from Sky, was initially against the idea that Leclerc should be held responsible: “Leclerc was far enough ahead on the inside of the corner. I think Leclerc wouldn’t have received a penalty, which is something irrelevant now, of course. Lewis dived inside him at the first apex — fair enough. That’s racing. Then he went to the outside, which was bold. Leclerc, I think, was ahead at the apex. He was far enough ahead. And on the inside, which is another key element.”
In Brundle’s assessment, Leclerc could have left more space if he had better front-end control, but the Ferrari driver’s reaction was also related to how Hamilton took the first corner. “If Charles had more control over the front, you could say he should have left space for his teammate. I suspect he was quite upset about what happened at the entry of the first corner.”
Rosberg, however, saw the move differently. For him, the rule is clear when the driver on the outside arrives ahead towards the apex: “That’s easy,” he said. “The rules are: if the outside driver — which in this case is Lewis — is ahead at any point towards the apex, then the inside driver must leave space.”
“It’s very straightforward and simple. Lewis was ahead at the entry, so Charles had to leave space, and he didn’t. Therefore, the fault is 100% Charles’. The rule is very clear. It’s written in black and white. I can even tell you which page — page 11.”
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The disagreement happened live, with Brundle alongside Rosberg during the analysis. The German also took the opportunity to joke with the British commentator: “I don’t believe it! Martin, I thought you usually knew what you were talking about!”
Despite the disagreement about who should be held responsible, they agreed on one point: Hamilton’s attitude at turn 1 was quite aggressive and may have contributed to Leclerc’s reaction afterwards.
“I think Charles had the inside line. He was far enough ahead,” said Brundle. “My reading is that I think he was a bit upset about what happened at the entry of the first corner.”
Rosberg agreed with that part of the analysis, although he maintained his opinion that Leclerc was responsible for the contact. “That’s true. Lewis was too aggressive.”
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