Mercedes will continue to allow its drivers Lewis Hamilton and Nico Rosberg to race each other this season despite their high profile collision at the Spanish Grand Prix.
The team is yet to apportion blame to either of its drivers for the opening lap clash which cost the operation a likely one-two finish in Barcelona.
Stewards deemed the collision a racing incident with no further action taken.
The nature of the crash draws comparisons from when the two drivers collided on the opening lap of the 2014 Belgian Grand Prix, which sparked a fractious intra-team relationship for the remainder of the year.
Mercedes boss Toto Wolff insists this latest incident is unlikely to see a repeat of the repercussions of two years ago and stands by the decision not to rein in Hamilton and Rosberg.
“We have moved on from Spa in 2014 and it was a completely different situation in the team back then,” said Wolff.
“By continuing to let them race (each other) it was clear that eventually this could happen. And we will continue to let them race.
“It is clear that we can’t expect them to be easy about it, each of them will have a different opinion.
“We can’t expect them (the drivers) to react differently. I am 100 percent sure that it will not influence in a negative way their relationship going forward.
“I think what matters more is how we come out of the incident as a team.
“We’ve had a really great spirit in the team in the last couple of races through many ups and downs.
“We never threw the toys out of the pram and I think that is another challenge for us, to demonstrate as a team that we can move on from difficult circumstances.”
Despite the double retirement, Mercedes continues to hold a sizeable 48 point lead in the constructors’ standings, while Rosberg heads the drivers’ championship by 39 points from Ferrari’s Kimi Raikkonen.
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