"He drove into Rosberg like an idiot," complains Verstappen
Sunday 2 October 2016 14:03, UK
Ferrari's Sebastian Vettel has been handed a three-place grid penalty for the Japanese GP after his first-corner collision with Nico Rosberg in Malaysia.
The Mercedes of Rosberg and Ferrari of Vettel collided as the four-time world champion surged up the inside line in a bid to claim second place ahead of Rosberg and Red Bull's Max Verstappen.
"Sebastian is crazy," complained an unimpressed Verstappen over the team radio. "He drove into Rosberg like an idiot".
The impact turned Rosberg's car around in a leery spin, relegating the world championship leader to the back of the field, while Vettel was forced to retire.
"I turned and tried to do everything to make the corner," countered Vettel. "I was side-by-side and squeezed. I don't have to comment on what Max said."
Rosberg subsequently finished the race in third to increase his title lead to 23 points in the wake of Lewis Hamilton's late engine failure.
Asked for his view of the first-corner incident, Rosberg replied: "Oh, I just got T-boned by a four-time World Champion out of control!"
Don't miss the F1 Report for all the reaction and analysis from the Malaysia GP. Former F1 world champion Damon Hill and The Sun's Ben Hunt join Natalie Pinkham in the studio at 8:30pm on Wednesday on Sky Sports F1.
