Nico Rosberg and Lewis Hamilton have been told by Mercedes team boss Toto Wolff that they can race against each other for the 2014 F1 World Championship title but they must respect each other during the remainder of the season.
Tensions have been mounting between the two Mercedes drivers during recent races as the battle for the title hots up. It all came to a head in Hungary two weeks ago when Hamilton ignored orders from the Mercedes team to let Rosberg through.
After the race, Hamilton expressed his displeasure at being asked to yield, while Rosberg angrily refused to comment to the media, clearly showing signs of frustration at the situation.
The two Mercedes Silver Arrows racers have been the class of the field this season, winning nine of the 11 races.
Eight races remain and the championship is finely balanced with the famous Spa-Francorchamps track in Belgium hosting the next round later this month.
Wolff said: “It’s important for the team that we respect the situation and allow our drivers to race against each other for the championship.
“I agree with this and it is not right that one of them has to get of the gas to let the other gain an advantage. They must respect each other and we will help them race hard for the rest of the year.
“I believe we will see some great racing in the remaining races from both Nico Rosberg and Lewis Hamilton.
Toro Rosso team principal, Franz Tost, meanwhile, believes his team must get on top of their reliability issues if they are to move forward before the end of the season.
The part Bicester-based team has suffered a mixed year with Jean-Eric Vergne and Daniil Kvyat recording points in six of the 11 races.
Tost said: “We’ve suffered many retirements which is not good enough. We must work harder on the development of the car and present to us the best opportunity we can to move forward.
“We need to be more disciplined to avoid making further mistakes in the second half of the year. We need to sort out our reliability issues so we can finish in the points in the remaining races.
“One of the main positives of the year is Daniil Kvyat. He is doing a very good job for the team, especially taking into consideration how little mileage he was able to do before the season.
“He is driving very well, showing that he has natural speed. Equally important, he has had no accidents, nor has he made any mistakes. He is doing a fantastic job.”