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Formula 1 title contender Nico Rosberg has been hit with a reprimand for an infringement at the entry of the pitlane during Friday morning practice for the Spanish Grand Prix.

Rosberg was given the reprimand - his first of the 2015 season and his first since last year's Bahrain GP - for the way he crossed the white line separating the track from the pit-entry.

The incident happened with 25 minutes remaining of the session, when Rosberg was returning to the pits after a run.

The FIA stewards, including 1980 world champion Alan Jones, deemed this to be a breach of Article 12.1.1.i of Appendix L of the International Sporting Code following a review of video evidence and interviews with Rosberg and a team representative.

"The driver crossed the line separating the pit entry from the track and did not stay to the right of the bollard, as required in the race director's event notes," said a stewards' statement.

The race director's notes, issued by Charlie Whiting on Thursday stated that "for safety reasons, drivers must keep to the right of the bollard at the pit entry."