Nico Rosberg praises Nico Hulkenberg's "spectacular" Dutch GP save

2016 Formula 1 champion Nico Rosberg has lauded Nico Hulkenberg's "spectacular" reactions to avoid a high-speed collision with his Audi team-mate Gabriel Bortoleto during a chaotic opening lap of the Dutch Grand Prix.

While the rain had stopped before the start of the race, there were still some wet patches on the track. As Red Bull's Max Verstappen made his way around the banked final corner, he hit a damp spot and crashed into the barriers. Bortoleto suffered a similar incident but managed to continue after a 360-degree spin.

As his Audi team-mate spun in front of him, Hulkenberg found himself in a cloud of tyre smoke, and when it dissipated, he was met with Bortoleto in front of him.

Speaking during the Sky Sports F1 broadcast, Rosberg pointed out how the 39-year-old managed to avoid a big crash.

"It just shows how quick those drivers react. Hulkenberg went in; he knew more or less where Bortoleto was, where his trajectory was going," Rosberg explained. "He has a white wall, but then at the last moment sees him and bam, reacts and avoids [a crash].

"It was a spectacular reaction from Hulkenberg, so I don't think it was just luck. I think there was also some skill there to avoid that big crash."

Hulkenberg went on to claim his best result of the season with eighth place and four valuable points for Audi. Bortoleto successfully recovered from his spin to finish 13th.

The German driver described the near-miss while speaking to Sky Sports Germany: "Yeah, it was tricky and dicey. Naturally, I saw it all happen almost in slow motion at that speed.

"But Turn 14 was simply still completely wet and, on slicks, it's a bit of a thriller, of course. I saw him lose the car—like I said, slow motion and at speed. But then you don't know exactly whether he's going to slide up or slide down, what's going to happen.

"And it was clear to me: hey, I have to try to somehow get around this. On top of that, there was all the debris and the smoke from Max ahead. So it looked wild and spectacular. I slowed down and tried to wait as long as possible before deciding which way to go. A sheet of paper would have fitted between us, but not much more."

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