Hamilton summoned by stewards over Rosberg incident during European GP qualifying

Rosberg found his last run of Q3 compromised when he was held up behind Hamilton - who had been driving slowly in the final sector of the lap to try and build himself a good buffer to the cars ahead of him.

Hamilton managed to deliver a lap that secured him second on the grid, while Rosberg was left ruing what might have been - as he was left down in P6 with the time from his first run.

Speaking about how much Hamilton's situation had cost him, Rosberg said: "It had a big impact. But that's beside the point really. The point is that there is a rule, stating very clearly that you are not allowed to slow down in those last couple of corners unnecessarily. That is the rule, it is very clear, because it is dangerous.

"In this case, me and [Pastor] Maldonado were arriving flat out, and Lewis was driving extremely slowly all of a sudden. It's just a very dangerous situation, and that's what the rule is there for.

"At the same time, as a side point, it did ruin my lap because I started the lap stuck behind him."

Mercedes team principal Ross Brawn believes that Rosberg had had the potential to be fighting for a front row start if he had got a clean run on that final lap.

"Nico had a good balance and was looking as if he could challenge for the front row," he said. "And he got caught up with Lewis.

"He had Maldonado behind him so he was conscious of making sure he gave Maldonado clearance to finish his lap, and Lewis backed him up into Maldonado. So that was the end of our qualifying."

McLaren confirmed on Saturday evening that Hamilton had been summoned to see the stewards to discuss the matter.