F1: Rosberg says Hamilton went too far

Nico Rosberg says Mercedes team-mate Lewis Hamilton was "trying to drive me off the track" at the start of the Formula 1 United States Grand Prix.

Rosberg cut a forlorn figure postrace as Hamilton celebrated clinching his third F1 world championship with three grands prix to spare. While he lost the lead and any hopes of keeping the title fight alive with a late-race mistake, polesitter Rosberg was unhappier about the start of the race, when he was forced wide by an "extremely aggressive" Hamilton move at the first corner.

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"I was in front mid-corner," he said, "that's the crucial thing. If I'm in-front, then I have a right to the track there.

"He was trying to drive me off the track, but I wasn't moving because I have the right to the track there. So he drove into me, and that's definitely one step too far."

Hamilton went on to lead the first phase of the race, with Rosberg dropping to fourth.

"It was very close with Nico at the beginning," Hamilton said. "It wasn't the intention, we both went deep. He was on the outside. He was turning and I wasn't turning, so we touched."

Even with the move, strategy meant Rosberg led into the final phase of the race, before going off after losing control of his car coming out of Turn 15 with eight laps remaining.

"Very tough to lose the race like that, with a mistake that I made," he said. "It's never really happened to me before – it's very strange, so that's definitely a tough one."

Originally on Autosport.com