Mercedes insist they won’t employ team orders during a grand prix this season after witnessing Lewis Hamilton and Nico Rosberg battle it out during the Bahrain GP.
The Mercedes duo fought wheel-to-wheel from start to finish with Hamilton eventually coming out on top. Whilst Mercedes executive director of racing, Paddy Lowe, warned the pair to “be careful and bring the cars home”, his words didn’t carry any specific order.
When asked if their stance on team orders adopted during the Bahrain GP would remain for the rest of the year, Lowe replied: “There’s no reason to not do it.”
Toto Wolff meanwhile described the battle as “the best advert for F1” during a period in which many fans and F1 chief’s were talking the sport down.
“It’s great watching two drivers of that level racing fair and square,” he said.
“Not risking the other car and still delivering a mega-show; it doesn’t get any better advertising for F1, in a moment when lots of people were talking F1 down.
“You need the drivers to know that it is important not to risk the image of such a brand. We are representing a big brand and they need to know what to do, and they did it in a fantastic and spectacular way.”
The Austrian added that it was only fair to allow the pair to battle it out on track.
“Imagine if we’d imposed team orders from lap two or something,” he added. “What a terrible thing that would be for F1 and the Mercedes philosophy in motorsport.
“It is something we owe to ourselves and the sport. And to the drivers. They are great drivers. They are professionals. You want to give them the opportunity to race.”
