Rosberg feared his race was done after Verstappen contact

While leader Lewis Hamilton locked up and cut across the grass, behind him Rosberg also found himself having to take to the escape road after banging wheels with Verstappen as they disputed second place.

And although the impact looked quite small, Rosberg said it felt big enough to have put him out of the race, and meant he suffered a steering-wheel offset for the remainder of the grand prix.

Speaking about the incident afterwards, Rosberg said: "He [Verstappen] went over the limit. He locked up the front tyre and shunted me off the track.

"It was a pretty big impact. It didn't look like it on the television, but feeling-wise it was a massive impact. I thought my car was done, and in fact I had a little steering offset after that.

"A penalty? That's not for me judge. They decided no penalty and I accept that."

Hamilton move

Rosberg also revealed that he thought he would be taking the lead of the Mexican GP at that point, after Hamilton had run wide.

"I was excited because I thought I would be in front," he said. "That was some pretty late braking, but then he floored it through the grass. But again that's not for me to judge."

When asked if there was a lack of consistency from the FIA – with Verstappen having been punished for a similar incident to Hamilton's – Rosberg said he understood the difficulties the governing body faced.

"It's difficult, but no incident is the same as the previous incident. So it will be a challenge, but it something that we know we can make further progress.

"We should continue to discuss it and get further down the road, but this is a known fact. It is not for me to complain."