Rosberg escapes penalty for slow qualifying lap

Nico Rosberg escaped a grid penalty at the British Grand Prix for taking an unduly slow lap during qualifying at Silverstone on Saturday.

The world championship-leading Mercedes driver was summoned to see the stewards after he was found to have exceeded the maximum time allowed for a lap between two safety car lines during Q1.

In a statement, the stewards said Rosberg had not been punished because he was not on an ‘in-lap’ when he set the leisurely time of two minutes and 26.444 seconds.

Instead, he was on a lap to cool down his tyres before starting a new flying lap. This meant he was not breaking the precise Sporting Regulations.

Rosberg will start Sunday's race from second place on the grid behind his Mercedes teammate and defending three-time world champion Lewis Hamilton.

FIA race director Charlie Whiting sent the teams a note on Friday stating that the permitted maximum time was one minute and 45 seconds.

The rule is to help reduce the risk of accidents caused by slow drivers interfering with others on fast laps.