Lewis Hamilton insists he will not change his approach to racing against team-mate Nico Rosberg, despite the pair receiving a final warning from Mercedes boss Toto Wolff during a meeting on Thursday.
Following their clash in Austria, in which Rosberg was deemed at fault by race stewards, Mercedes reacted by warning their drivers that they face consequences should it happen again.
It's believed those consequences include fines, but could even stretch to a race ban according to Wolff. Hamilton however doesn't believe he should change his approach, as each of his clashes have been deemed "racing incidents".
"We’re still able to race, and obviously in those races the stewards deemed me racing, so we… I… will still race like that," he said on Thursday at Silverstone ahead of his home race.
When asked if he would be in a better position as a team principal – having raced a Formula 1 car – to handle the current difficult situation, he replied: "I think I’d be in a better position because I’m a racing driver, so I know what you would do, and what I would do on a race track and what I would not.
"Our great engineers and generally individuals who don’t race, it’s difficult to understand the decisions we take when we’re racing at 200mph.
"So I think I’d be in a better position – but I’m not going to tell you what I would or would not do. I would want them to race, that’s for sure, and I wouldn’t bring in team orders ‘cos racing is why I’m here and why I’d want to be there: to see the guys race."
Wolff also warned that team orders remain an option in the future, and Hamilton says he could abide by them if it came to it.
"I would, that’s my job, that’s what I get paid to do. That’s what we agreed today, that’s what’s in our agreement."
