No penalty for Hamilton over incident with Rosberg during Valencia qualifying

Hamilton was trying to build a buffer zone to get some clear air ahead of his final Q3 effort but, in slowing down at the final sector, that put him within range of the pursuing Pastor Maldonado and Rosberg behind him.

Rosberg in particular was furious about the situation - especially because drivers had been warned ahead of the weekend that they should not drive slowly in the final sector of the lap.

After both drivers were summoned to see the stewards on Saturday evening to explain the situation, it was decided that Hamilton had not driven excessively slowly - so there was no need for any punishment.

The stewards said that there was no evidence that Hamilton had driven 'unnecessarily slowly'.

In a statement issued on Saturday they said: "The sector time for Car 4 (Hamilton) was actually faster than a time set previously in that same sector by Car 8 Nico Rosberg, which is an indication that Car 4 was not being driven unnecessarily slowly between turns 21 and 25."

It added: "The smallest gap between Car 4 and Car 8 was 18 metres and 1.1 seconds."

That means he will keep his second spot on the grid for the race in Valencia, with Rosberg ending up sixth overall.