What'll Merc do now? The 'consequences' Nico Rosberg could face post Spa

Mercedes’ management were quick to publicly condemn Nico Rosberg after the German driver committed the cardinal sin of motorsport in the Belgian GP by running into his team-mate – who in this explosive case also happened to be his sole title rival – Lewis Hamilton.

With Toto Wolff describing Rosberg’s botched as an “unbelievable risk”, the Austrian team boss has also suggested that “maybe the slap on the wrist is not enough” after the Brackley team lost a likely one-two finish as a result of Hamilton's puncture and his scolded team-mate's broken front-wing.

Having warned of “consequences” for Rosberg as a result, here we look at a few of the options which might be open to Mercedes’ management as the championship leaders look to get a handle on the escalating in-house squabbling:

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Fine Rosberg
The most likely – and obvious – sanction which could be applied to Rosberg from the suite of punishments Mercedes have open to them. The terms of Rosberg’s contract would determine the scale of any such financial hit although, in terms of how such a penalty would be received by wider critics of the German's driving at Spa, the fining of sportsmen who are on multi-million contracts is often regarded as a futile exercise. Furthermore, it’s debatable whether such a sanction in isloation would appease Hamilton, who has already claimed that what is likely to happen to Rosberg will be no more than akin to a school “detention”. A financial penalty would be perceived as validating that scepticism.  

However, it remains the most viable option. “They can give Rosberg a fine and make it very public they’ve done that,” Ted Kravitz suggested when assessing the options on Sky Sports News HQ. “I think that’s probably the most likely option that they have."

Order Rosberg not to pass Lewis at Monza
Another idea floated since it became clear just how angry Mercedes’ management were about the incident and one which, theoretically, could have merit. In order to effectively give Hamilton the chance to partly ‘catch up’ in the championship standings after losing out on points at Spa when Rosberg punctured his tyre, Mercedes could order the German driver not to overtake his team-mate the next time the Briton is ahead on track, be it at the next race in Italy or sometime after.

All well and good on paper perhaps, but the problem lies in the detail: Mercedes have been loathed to impose strict team orders all season and Hamilton hasn’t outqualified Rosberg since May, meaning any such retribution might get a little messy to enact.

Take away one of Rosberg’s race weekend perks
Such has been the closely-balanced nature of the Mercedes pair’s duel this season, that the often overlooked details that make up a successful race weekend for a driver – race tyre strategy or the running order in Q3 – have been sharply scrutinised. So, with this in mind, Mercedes could insist that Rosberg 'loses a turn' in running last in the qualifying shootout or Hamilton is put on the faster strategy in the next race irrespective of their starting positions. Again, though, outside circumstances could intervene.

Race stand-down
When asked about the consequences of the collision for their drivers, Wolff replied rather ominously that Mercedes could do “a lot”. But regardless of Rosberg’s part in it, not to mention Hamilton’s assertion about what the German said about it afterwards, no