Whilst not having gone down the dreaded route of introducing team orders, Mercedes has warned its warring drivers, Lewis Hamilton and Nico Rosberg, that any repeat of the kind of incident witnessed last weekend in Austria will not be tolerated.

Indeed, talking to reporters at Silverstone as the British Grand Prix weekend got underway in unseasonably good weather, he warned that both drivers are essentially on their final warning.

"They've had a warning, and this is the final warning," he said. "It's a scenario none of us want to be in.

"They are wired in a certain way, and that's exactly why they drive for Mercedes," he continued. "But there have been three accidents in five races, and that situation needs containment.

"It is clear for both drivers that we go through a tough time when we lose points when the cars collide. And that was acknowledged.

"If you have a yellow card, will it change your way of tackling it or not? Because you know what happens with a second yellow.

"In a couple of years we might look back and say Rosberg/Hamilton was one of the best battles," he acknowledged. "I am aware of that, and I don't want to over-manage it.

"We want them to be race drivers, they are the stars of the show. We don't want to belittle them in public, which is why I am reluctant to share in public the possible sanctions for them. We don't want to have them go around like puppies.

"But equally let us not have three shunts in five races. Let's get that ratio in a place that is acceptable for the team; three in five is not a good one.

"If it was mission impossible, that would mean we didn't see any clean racing out there. But there is clean racing out there.

"The great racing is hard racing, trying to pass and outsmart the competitor without contact. I believe, especially considering the skill set of those two, that clean racing is possible and achievable."

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READERS COMMENTS

1. Posted by vectis, 08/07/2016 13:09

"the truth of the matter is that the team must know that rosberg has been blocking hamilton at all costs and where a collision is the result he has basically got away with it , bernie doesn't want the WDC to be over two thirds of the way through the season hence the stewards weird lack of meaningful action

when any driver takes the apex he is entitled to exit on the racing line and anyone trying to overtake outside must give way ...just as hamilton has done ; in austria if rosberg had gone to the apex he knew he would have lost to hamilton so drove into him deliberately [ have a look at the replay , hamilton went around the outside leaving enough room for 2 cars on the inside ] ; in barcelona rosberg turned right on the straight to stop hamilton overtaking [ the rules are clear ...if a significant portion of the overtaking car is alongside you must leave a cars width .....the rule defines that as ..if the front wing is alongside the rear wheel ....which was clearly the position if you look at the replay again

despite the fact that mercedes clearly would like a german WDC ...when they bought the team they promptly signed 2 germans ..[ no , I don't believe for one minute they are nobbling hamilton's car , makes no sense at this point ] they should clearly get rid of rosberg [ has he got his new contract yet ? ] at seasons end ...he is mentally in a bad place after having been beaten by hamilton, boy and man ; he makes mistakes under pressure , gets the red mist ...while in the best car he has won a lot of races when not under pressure but who is to say if the mercedes will be so clearly superior next season and onwards ?
if they must have a german driver both pascal and the hulk would be available although personally I would think perez would be best as he has a balance of skills to complement hamilton , even a 1 year contract for button to give pascal more time...but it's all politics , isn't it "

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2. Posted by JackTheCat, 08/07/2016 11:44

"Can I just clarify... is this their final final final warning or their final final final final warning?"

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3. Posted by edllorca, 08/07/2016 2:42

"The answer lies where Toto said, 'clean racing'. Blocking to the edge of the track is bs plain and simple."

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4. Posted by Yeyox02, 07/07/2016 21:34

"The tale of the wolf. Oh, here comes the wolf...."

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Wolff: This is their final warning

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