Nico Rosberg says he was "very surprised" to be penalised for his move on Max Verstappen during the German Grand Prix.
Having had a poor start, Rosberg was attempting to recover from fourth place when he attacked Verstappen at Turn 6, with the Red Bull driver moving across slightly as he threatened to close the door. Rosberg ran deep into the corner and Verstappen was forced off at the hairpin as a result, with the stewards handing the German a five-second time penalty.
Taking the penalty at his final pit stop, Rosberg was restricted to fourth place at the finish and said the penalty was unexpected.
"I thought it was a good battle [with VES] and I was very surprised that I got penalised – I didn’t expect that at all," Rosberg said.
"It was racing, you know? I was really ecstatic at the time and that was awesome that I came from mile behind and was very happy to get the position because it meant second place at least. Damage limitation of sorts, and I was surprised to get a penalty for it."
Asked if he felt the stewards are being harsh on him, Rosberg replied: "Nope.
"It just took me by surprise definitely and I didn’t expect the penalty for that."
And Rosberg says there are no similarities to his incident with team-mate Lewis Hamilton in Austria, when the two collided on the last lap as Rosberg attempted to defend the inside line.
"It’s not comparable. If you look at the positioning, I was clearly ahead this time and it’s not comparable."
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