Williams technical director Sam Michael remains convinced that Nico Rosberg would have taken second place in the Singapore Grand Prix had it not been for his drive-through penalty, given to him after he ran over the white line of the pit lane exit.
Rosberg had started in third on the grid, but leapfrogged Sebastian Vettel off the line and was running second when he made his first pit stop, but then he ran wide when exiting the pits, ran over the fateful white line, and was promptly handed a drive-through penalty for his crime.
The impact of the incident was heightened by a safety car period immediately before he served his penalty. While the field had been spread out, he would have likely remained in the points even after his drive-through, but having to pit after the field had been bunched up behind the safety car dropped him to the back of the field.
And although Michael stopped short of suggesting that he could have had definitely challenged Lewis Hamilton for the race win, he did say that second place was "in the bag" for the German driver.
"Well, things can always get worse - as Frank Dernie used to say. Just when you think you are at the bottom they can get a lot worse. It is very annoying really," Michael waffled to the press after the Singapore weekend.
"Nico didn't put a foot wrong in practice or qualifying, and the race up until then, he made a small mistake that was very, very costly. It could have happened at any other time, but that's that."
He went on to say that: "Second was in the bag. Nico reckons he could have had a crack at Lewis but we would have had to have had a look at how it panned out in the next stints. I think Lewis pretty much had the measure of us."
Rosberg himself was massively disappointed after the race, after the loss of his second place meant he was still seeking his first podium finish of 2009.
"Today's outcome was hugely disappointing," Rosberg whimpered after the end of the race, "I made an unnecessary mistake by braking too late and running over the white line on the pitlane exit. Then the safety car came out at the worst possible moment.
"It left me with a really horrible feeling, also for the team, knowing that I wouldn't be second when I have served my drive-through penalty and I would have to spend the rest of the race at the back.
"The team gave me such a good car this weekend having put more effort into development than anyone else, and I am now determined to use this to best advantage in Japan."
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