Nico Rosberg has been disciplined by Mercedes after taking responsibility for the crash that resulted in teammate Lewis Hamilton retiring from the Belgian Grand Prix on Sunday.
The German driver clipped the wheel of his teammate as he attempted to pass him on lap two at Spa, leaving Hamilton with a puncture that saw him drop to last place before retiring towards the end of the race.
After the race, Hamilton claimed that Rosberg had indicated that he had drove into him on purpose, something which the Championship leader denied, but five days after the incident Rosberg has been punished by his team after apologising for "error of judgment".
An official Mercedes statement read: "Toto Wolff, Paddy Lowe, Nico Rosberg and Lewis Hamilton met today in the boardroom of MERCEDES AMG PETRONAS headquarters in Brackley to discuss the events of the Belgian Grand Prix.
"During this meeting, Nico acknowledged his responsibility for the contact that occurred on lap two of the Belgian Grand Prix and apologised for this error of judgement. Suitable disciplinary measures have been taken for the incident.
"Mercedes-Benz remains committed to hard, fair racing because this is the right way to win World Championships. It is good for the team, for the fans and for Formula 1.
"Lewis and Nico understand and accept the team's number one rule: there must be no contact between the team's cars on track.
"It has been made clear that another such incident will not be tolerated. But Nico and Lewis are our drivers and we believe in them. They remain free to race for the 2014 FIA Formula 1 World Championship."
After he finished second in Sunday's race, Rosberg now leads Hamilton by 29 points in the drivers' standings.
Darren Plant
