Mercedes boss Toto Wolff says the team will not allow the relationship between Lewis Hamilton and Valtteri Bottas to deteriorate, should they remain closely-matched in 2019.
Hamilton emerged as the clear team leader through 2017 and 2018 as he moved on to five world titles, with Bottas struggling for results last year.
But the pair are level on two wins already this season and Bottas holds a one-point advantage over reigning champion Hamilton courtesy of bagging the fastest lap point in Australia.
Lead Ferrari driver Sebastian Vettel is already 35 points down on Bottas.
Mercedes endured a fractious period towards the end of the Hamilton/Nico Rosberg partnership, with the pair regularly exclusively battling for wins and the title due to Mercedes’ 2014-16 dominance.
Wolff has stressed that there will not be a repeat of that situation, in which the pair barely spoke and collided several times.
“You have two drivers that have the ambition and the ability to win a championship,” said Wolff.
“It’s up to us together with them to be very aware of that situation and remember that very quickly Vettel or [Charles] Leclerc could be back into the game, that we mustn’t be carried away with the four first results — there are 21 races to do.
“That definitely the relationship matters in order to avoid what we went through between Nico and Lewis.”
Wolff added: “I think we are lucky that they [Hamilton and Bottas] have a very good relationship. They get on with each other.
“There is not a lot of games in the background, and I am very happy about that.
“But as a matter of fact you have to be conscious. We have seen a relationship deteriorate.
“Both of the drivers have an ambition to win the championship. We want them to be feisty — is that how you say it? — in the car. Lions in the car, so you can’t expect the behaviour of a sheep.
“But equally the respect needs to stay in there.
“We are very strong as a team and we wouldn’t allow a relationship between drivers to deteriorate to a point that it has a negative effect on the team if that would ever be the case. after Nico and Lewis, we will ensure we would issue yellow and red cards. But we are far, we are not there.”
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