Mercedes team bosses have chosen not to impose team orders on their drivers Lewis Hamilton and Nico Rosberg during a meeting on Thursday, after the duo clashed three times in the last five races.
Mercedes were considering team orders after the latest clash between Hamilton and Rosberg in Austria, when they collided on the final lap of the race as they fought over the lead. Hamilton went on to win whilst Rosberg damaged his front-wing and ended up fourth.
Team boss Toto Wolff described the incident as "brainless", whilst race stewards punished Rosberg for "causing a collision".
It comes just weeks after the pair crashed out on the opening lap of the Spanish Grand Prix and touched wheels in Canada.
However during Thursday's meeting, it was agreed that their drivers should be allowed to continue racing, though warned that team orders could be imposed later in the season if their drivers fail to respect new rules of engagement.
"This freedom comes with a duty for our drivers to respect the values of the team," Mercedes said in a statement.
"In the past five races, there have been three incidents which have cost us over 50 points in the constructors' championship.
"We have therefore strengthened our rules of engagement to include much greater deterrents to contact between our cars," it added. It's believed these "greater deterrents" could include fines and even the threat of suspension.
"With these in place, we will trust our drivers to manage the situation between them on track. Their destiny is in their own hands.
"The drivers were also reminded that we may issue instructions during the race to protect against a potential loss of constructors' points, such as we did at this year's Monaco GP when Nico was instructed to let Lewis pass.
"If the drivers do not honour the revised rules of engagement, we may impose team orders as a solution of last resort."
Despite the recent crashed, Mercedes reiterated its belief that it has the best driver line-up on the grid, adding: "We restated our belief in Lewis and Nico as the best driver pairing in Formula 1.
"Since 2013, we have won together a total of 43 races and 40 further podium finishes, plus two consecutive world championships. This record speaks for itself."
Discussion about this post