Wolff: Last-lap Mercedes collision was “brainless”

Although he confirmed that Rosberg was suffering a brake-by-wire failure, his initial reaction to the intra-team collision – their second of the season after the double-DNF in Spain – was an angry one.

“Brainless,” he said. “It doesn’t need a comment. We were marginal on brakes, if not to say completely over the brakes, [but] we couldn’t tell the drivers.

“So Nico had a brake-by-wire failure on to the last straight, and defended very hard. Then seeing both cars nearly colliding is upsetting.

“Defending into Turn 2, he was defending on the inside but the brakes were gone. The electronic brake didn’t work anymore.

“It could have also easily been a double DNF.”

Lauda also unhappy

Niki Lauda, the non-executive chairman of the team, was also very dismissive of their collision.

“I guess that Nico had a brake problem when he came to that corner,” said Lauda. “Therefore he went long, Lewis was pushed to the outside, but why then afterwards they hit each other? This I don’t understand yet.

“I know that Nico had a brake problem, this is clear. But the end of this, why [did] they hit? This, I didn’t see clear enough. This is completely wrong.

“The first issue was he had a brake problem, but then why they hit each other - this, I think, was Nico’s fault. But this I have to look again.”