Mercedes will not appeal Rosberg penalty

Mercedes have decided not to proceed with any appeal against Nico Rosberg’s demotion in Sunday’s 2016 Formula 1 British Grand Prix at Silverstone.

Rosberg dropped from second to third place in the race standings thanks to a 10-second time penalty which was applied after stewards decided that radio instructions given to him by the pit wall had breached regulations.

“We were able to prove to the Stewards that a car-stopping gearbox failure was imminent and, as such, were permitted within the rules to advise Nico of the required mode change,” said Mercedes.

“However, the advice to avoid seventh gear was considered to breach TD/016-16, and therefore Article 27.1 of the Sporting Regulations.

“The Team accepts the Stewards' interpretation of the regulation, their decision and the associated penalty.”

The news means the Silverstone results will remain unaltered and Rosberg will head into the next round in Hungary in a fortnight’s time with a championship lead of just one point over team mate Lewis Hamilton.

Mercedes added that they would continue discussions with relevant F1 stakeholders over the coming weeks on “the subject of the perceived over-regulation of the sport”.