British Grand Prix runner-up Nico Rosberg was demoted to third place after receiving a 10-second time penalty from the Silverstone stewards for a breach of radio communications rules Sunday. Dutch teenager Max Verstappen, who finished third in a Red Bull, has been elevated to second following the ruling. The altered result cut Rosberg's lead over his teammate Lewis Hamilton, the winner of Sunday's race, from four points to one point in the drivers' championship. Rosberg had been under investigation when he held a radio dialogue with the team to try and fix a gearbox problem during the closing stages of the race. In that chat, Rosberg asked for instructions and the team's response was deemed to be in breach of the strict rules introduced to stop drivers being coached from the pit wall. In a statement issued three hours after Hamilton took the checkered flag, the sport's ruling body, the International Motoring Federation (FIA), said that while some of the instructions from Mercedes were allowable, others were not. "Having considered the matter extensively, the stewards determined that the team gave some instructions to the driver that were specifically permitted," said the statement. "However, the stewards determined that the team then went further and gave instructions to the driver that were not permitted — and were in Breach of Art. 27.1 of the Sporting Regulations, that the driver must drive the car alone and unaided." Rosberg now leads the championship on 168 points with Hamilton on 167.
