Formula One championship leader Nico Rosberg has drawn a line under his Spanish Grand Prix collision with Mercedes teammate Lewis Hamilton, saying their relationship will not be affected.
The two started on the front row of the grid at the Circuit de Catalunya, with triple world champion Hamilton on pole position, but collided on the opening lap while fighting for the lead and retired.
Stewards deemed it a racing incident and team boss Toto Wolff said it was caused by a number of factors with neither driver entirely to blame.
The collision, with Hamilton forced wide onto the grass and then losing control before his car skewed sideways and hit Rosberg’s, ended the German’s hopes of an eighth win in a row and fifth of the season.
“I don’t even think about it anymore, for me it’s way in the past and it surprises me that people are talking about it,” Rosberg told reporters after a testing session at the same Spanish circuit yesterday. “I understand it. For me, though, it’s over.”
Rosberg played down reports of rising tension between the Mercedes drivers, who have been rivals since their teenage years and whose relationship turned frosty during their 2014 duel for the title, and said they pushed each other all the time. “Obviously it didn’t go well for us on Sunday, but our relationship remains as before,” he said.
Rosberg leads Ferrari’s Kimi Raikkonen by 39 points after five of the season’s 21 races. Monaco is next up on May 29. Hamilton has remained largely silent since Sunday, with a notable absence from the social media streams on which he is usually active.

Mercedes bring in Wehrlein for second F1 test day
Formula One world champions Mercedes made a surprise switch to their test arrangements yesterday, bringing in Manor driver Pascal Wehrlein for the second day in Barcelona instead of French youngster Esteban Ocon.
Ocon, who will have to wait until the second in-season test at Silverstone in July, has a Mercedes contract but is also the Renault reserve and gave positive feedback about that team’s upgraded engine. “You will be surprised,” he told reporters at the Circuit de Catalunya after completing 105 laps.”It is really good. I can tell it will be quicker for sure.”
The highly-rated driver, who took part in Friday practice for Renault
at the Spanish Grand Prix, also said that he was excited to be driving the Mercedes.
The champions said instead that a race-experienced driver was needed to test new developments and turned to Wehrlein, the team’s German reserve who has been placed with Mercedes-powered Manor this season.
Red Bull, who use Renault engines with Tag Heuer branding, won
Sunday’s Spanish Grand Prix in Barcelona while Mercedes drew a blank when Nico Rosberg and Lewis Hamilton collided and put themselves out of the race.
Wehrlein, 21, tested on Tuesday for Manor before handing the car over to the team’s British development driver Jordan King.
Rosberg, the championship leader and winner of four of five races, tested on Tuesday and yesterday with reigning champion Hamilton not in Barcelona. The decision means triple champion Hamilton will now not take part in any in-season testing this year as teams have only four days available each and two of them must be given to inexperienced young drivers.
Sunday’s 18-year-old race winner Max Verstappen was also testing with Red Bull yesterday.