Oscar Piastri won the Hungarian Grand Prix from team-mate Lando Norris in a McLaren one-two.
However, it was an edgy finale as Norris found himself leading after the team pitted him to cover off a threat from Lewis Hamilton in the latter laps.
The intent was to move the Brit to safety and then reverse the running order of its cars.
Piastri had lost out in the move, the Australian having controlled the race throughout before the decision to cover Hamilton allowed Norris the opportunity to undercut him.
In normal circumstances, as the lead car, Piastri would have boxed first and retained track position.
Speaking with team boss Andrea Stella, 2016 world champion Rosberg suggested McLaren needed to be more absolute when giving instruction to its drivers.
Rosberg was part of the all-conquering Mercedes team alongside Hamilton where team orders were used.
There, the competition between the pair became especially prickly.
“I recommend that you guys, in managing this intra team battle between the two drivers, you need to be extremely clear and firm,” he said on Sky Sports.
“Today there was the word, ‘at your convenience, Lando’.
“That is like, for a driver, leaves the door very wide open to use all kinds of grey areas.
“That would be my strong recommendation going forward; very clear, strong instructions from the pit wall to the drivers.
“Otherwise, you end up in a whole bunch of difficulties between the drivers – and I talk from experience.”
During the race, the McLaren pit wall continually prompted Norris to swap positions with Piastri in the latter stages.
Though he eventually did, he made the process far more arduous than it needed to be, and his opinion on the matter was perfectly clear.
Victory attracts seven more points than second, which could have bolstered Norris’ championship standing.
It would have left him 69 points down in the standings, instead of the 76 by which he still trails Verstappen.