F1
Nate Saunders, General Editor, F1 8y

Niki Lauda: Nico Rosberg at fault for Lewis Hamilton collision

Niki Lauda thinks Nico Rosberg was to blame for the last-lap collision with Lewis Hamilton which cost Mercedes a one-two at the Austrian Grand Prix. 

Hamilton caught Rosberg in the final laps, with the German driver struggling with his brakes in the closing stages of the race. Rosberg appeared to make a mistake at Turn 1 on lap 71, giving Hamilton a run on Rosberg down to the next corner.

Hamilton got alongside Rosberg and appeared to be ahead on the outside, only for Rosberg to go straight on at the corner and into the side of his Mercedes teammate. While Hamilton managed to continue and win the race, the damage to Rosberg's car eventually cost him a place on the podium.

Though Lauda admitted Rosberg was struggling with his brakes, he blamed the German for causing the collision itself.

Speaking immediately after the race, the team's non-executive chairman told Sky Sports: "We have to look into it carefully, it was not funny to watch. Nico had a brake problem when he came into the last corner, so therefore he went long and then Lewis was pushed to the outside, but why then afterwards they hit each other, this I don't understand. I know that Nico had a brake problem, this is clear.

"But in the end, why did they hit? This I didn't see clear enough, this is completely wrong. The first issue was the brake problem, they why did they hit other, so I think it was Nico's fault but we have to look again."

The collision was the second between the pair this season after their first-lap crash at the Spanish Grand Prix. On that occasion, both men crashed out of the race.

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