The penalty was strictly for the order to 'shift through the gear'. He'd already had plenty of help as it was when they asked him to change engine mode. The stewards not buying the 'car would have stopped on track otherwise' excuse. I don't think the rules offering no help are a bad idea at all. The driver must show his ability to improvise and work through the problem. For instance, Schumacher drove 2/3rds of the 1994 Spanish Grand Prix stuck in 5th gear and finished second. Rosberg just seriously lacks the cutting edge and improvisation that stops him from being a great driver. It's all very well winning races at a canter on these modern Tilke designed glorified car parks that give us little to admire in race craft but when it comes to your classic, unforgiving race tracks and the extremities offered by the weather, he is so far behind the elite class of Hamilton, Alonso, Vettel and young Verstappen.
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