Toto Wolff: Mercedes won’t interfere in Lewis Hamilton-Nico Rosberg rivalry

Mercedes will not try to halt the fierce rivalry between Formula One world champion Lewis Hamilton and Nico Rosberg, team boss Toto Wolff says.

The feud that came to a head when Rosberg drove into Hamilton on the second lap of the Belgian Grand Prix at Spa-Francorchamps in August was good for Formula One, Wolff said.

But the British and German rivals must not cross the line of what is acceptable again.

“We are not going to change our approach in terms of philosophy on how to let the drivers race. Even if it is not always easy.

“For us, for our brand, for Formula One, it was important to let them fight, one against the other,” the executive director of the Mercedes AMG Petronas team.

Wolff said Mercedes had understood going into the Belgian race that the rivalry was reaching a peak. He indicated that the team felt there had to be some kind of confrontation to clear the air.

“If you have no emotion in this sport, if you stay rational all the time, you lose a lot and the sport loses a lot and the way we run the team is with emotion.