It was described as a minor miracle.Lewis Hamilton's victory in the German Grand Prix after he had begun the day in 14th defied all expectations, though his triumph was later thrown into doubt.The Mercedes driver was summoned to the stewards afterwards for crossing the pit entry line amid confusion following the dispatch of a safety car after Sebastian Vettel had crashed.What a bitter blow it was for the Ferrari man, racing in his homeland, and looking to take the reins in the Championship having qualified in pole position.As he put it afterwards, his collision with the barriers was a "small mistake" that resulted in "big disappointment".Vettel seemingly struggled to adapt once the track was affected by heavy rain and while many will have sympathised with him, former F1 world champion Nico Rosberg insists such an experienced driver should have dealt with the situation better.

Rosberg on Vettel 

“Such a big one – unbelievable!” Rosberg told Sky Sports, quoted via Motorsport.com.

“He threw it away. Yes, the conditions were difficult, we know that, and they are horrible as a driver, because it’s so tough.

“But he still had a gap to the guys behind, he could have just taken out a little bit more, gone a little bit slower and taken it a bit more easy, and he just chucked it into the wall. It’s so bad.”

It was pointed out to the ex-Mercedes driver that the margins for error are very small and that he was perhaps giving Vettel a hard time.

“But you know the Sachskurve, that’s the one corner where there is no margin for error," Rosberg replied.

“So in that corner, you’re going to leave even more in reserve, and he didn’t. He went over the edge.”

Why was the 31-year-old pushing so hard? Initially, he was having to catch team-mate Kimi Raikkonen, who had to be ordered to let him past, and later, Valtteri Bottas and Hamilton both started to breathe down the necks of the Ferrari duo.

However, Rosberg noted that Vettel did not seem too concerned or it would have been captured on radio.

"We didn't hear a radio conversation with Sebastian about that during the race, so I don't think he was aware of that," he added.

"He was just doing his own race and he messed it up, totally, which is unbelievable for him. That doesn't happen too often for him."

Vettel must be kicking himself, knowing the crash could now have huge ramifications for his title hopes. 

Do you think Rosberg is being harsh about Vettel? Have your say in the comments.