Nico Rosberg says he had to take evasive action to avoid being wiped out at Turn 1 by Mercedes team-mate Lewis Hamilton at the Japanese Grand Prix.
Pole-sitter Rosberg and Hamilton went into Turn 1 wheel-to-wheel, with the latter crucially having the inside line. As they exited Turn 2 Hamilton moved across to take the lead by forcing Rosberg onto the astroturf along the kerb, which meant the German lost positions to Sebastian Vettel and Valtteri Bottas.
It was the decisive moment in the race for the win, as Hamilton was untouched out in front for the rest of the grand prix. Though Rosberg eventually recovered to finish second, he seemed frustrated about the moment in the post-race press conference.
"I've not seen it on TV, but it was close," Rosberg said. "I had to avoid a collision, but it's difficult to comment. The car is really back to its best - it was a pity to lose out at the start. It was a battle round Turn 1 and 2, and it got very close on the exit of Turn 2 so I had to back out of it and that lost me the race."
The Mercedes drivers have previous when it comes to collisions, with the pair famously coming together at last year's Belgian Grand Prix when Hamilton was given a puncture by Rosberg's front wing. The Suzuka result sees Rosberg drop 48 points behind Hamilton and he admits his championship hopes have taken another blow.
"That's going the wrong way, definitely. I had to win today, it was important and it didn't work out. Just need to try and win next time out ... . It was great to fight back to second place because fourth palce would not have been acceptable, second was the best place after that. Really great for the team to be here after Singapore."