Nico Rosberg has bucked the trend suggesting Sebastian Vettel's protests tried to cover up another error while fighting Lewis Hamilton.

The Ferrari driver saw victory taken away in Canada as he was given a five-second penalty for unsafely rejoining the track after going wide at Turns 4 and 5.

Whereas much of the focus was on the stewards' decision, which he would come on to, the 2016 Formula 1 champion began by highlighting how Vettel again appeared to 'bottle it'.

“First of all, it’s the same as usual,” he declared while on a YouTube live stream.

“When Lewis and Vettel are together, Lewis puts the pressure on and we saw the typical thing, when the pressure is on and it’s a battle between Lewis and Vettel, Vettel just makes those mistakes."

The four-time champion's composure has been called into question several times after several spins towards the end of last year and another fighting the Mercedes driver in Bahrain earlier this year.

Switching attention to the eventual penalty, however, Rosberg went against the wisdom of most, believing Vettel should have done a lot more.

“The pressure is on lap after lap and then he goes off the track. He goes off the track and rejoins screaming ‘I had dirt on my tyres, I was out of control, where do you want me to go, I couldn’t see Lewis’," he said.

“But Lewis is there and the rules say that when you go off the track, you need to rejoin safely.

"Vettel went all the way across and I think he easily could have left more space. Especially in the latter phase, when Lewis started braking, he could’ve easily left more space.

“But he didn’t, and Lewis saw it as a dangerous situation. I looked at the replay many many times – Lewis would’ve been in the wall had he stayed there.

"Vettel moved over more and more, and it was so tight, that Lewis would’ve touch either him or the wall.

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• Mercedes: Vettel right to be angry but stewards must be supported
• Ferrari intends to appeal against Vettel penalty in Canada

“It’s very clear that unfortunately, it was an unsafe return to the track. You have to return safely, so a penalty is deserved in that case.”

While backing with the stewards, Rosberg did conclude by acknowledging it was disappointing to see the race decided as it was.

"I fully agree that it sucks to have this kind of penalties. We want to see some great racing, and this was great racing,” he stated.