After losing the title in Austin in 2015, Rosberg went on a seven-race winning streak, which included the first four races of 2016 (Hamilton suffered reliability issues in two of those first four races). Coming to the 2016 Spanish Grand Prix he led Hamilton by 43 points, who then claimed pole position ahead of Rosberg. After a good start for both men, Rosberg passed Hamilton around the outside of turn 1. Coming through the next few corners, Rosberg's car entered an incorrect engine mode due to an error the German had made on the formation lap. That meant he was slower than Hamilton coming out of turn 3, and Hamilton moved alongside Rosberg to overtake for the lead. Rosberg then forced Hamilton on to the grass where he lost control, eventually spinning into Rosberg and taking both drivers out of the race. While both drivers blamed each other for the incident, the stewards deemed it a racing incident reasoning that Hamilton had been justified in his attempt as he was quicker than Rosberg coming out of turn 3. Team chairman Niki Lauda apportioned blame toward Hamilton, lamenting the missed opportunity to secure a race win, saying "Lewis is too aggressive. It is stupid, we could've won this race". However, some defended Hamilton with 1997 F1 World Champion Jacques Villeneuve accusing Rosberg of dangerous driving. Afterwards, Hamilton insisted the incident did not harm his relationship with Rosberg, which he later admitted had mellowed since 2014.