Rosberg revealed that Mercedes drivers had to pay for damages caused by collisions – F1sport.cz

The rivalry between Hamilton and Rosberg during their time together at Mercedes was one of the greatest in the modern era. There were also several collisions between the two Mercedes drivers.

Perhaps the most famous collision between Hamilton and Rosberg took place after the start of the 2016 Spanish Grand Prix. It ultimately led to Max Verstappen’s first Formula 1 victory.

But there were more accidents. Nico Rosberg later admitted that the drivers had to pay for the accidents.

“Because we crashed with Lewis, the team ended up making us pay for the damage,” Rosberg said on the Business of Sport podcast.

It was previously known that Rosberg had to pay a larger sum, which reportedly went to charity, after the two drivers collided in the 2014 Belgian Grand Prix.

But Rosberg suggested that Mercedes’ policy to prevent accidents was much more extensive.

“We had to sign a contract that from now on, if there is an accident, it doesn’t matter whose fault it is, we will pay for the damage. I remember how much I paid – it was 360,000 pounds (about 11.8 million crowns according to the exchange rate of 2016) that I paid for one of the accidents, so it really hurt a lot. Then we definitely took care not to demolish.’

Rosberg did not say which specific incident led to the heavy penalty he mentioned, context suggests it was their last-lap collision at the 2016 Austrian Grand Prix.