“That is exciting. That is racing. That is what we are here for – but within
certain limits.
“Of course you cannot go crazy as team-mates because at the same time we are
both racing for Mercedes, we are both here to have great success for
Mercedes and help bring Mercedes to the front of F1.
“We need to find the fine line. We have done so in preparing for it and really
going through it in detail so we know what to expect.
“That is the most important thing, once everyone knows what they have to do it
is good to go.”
Toto Wolff, executive director of Mercedes motorsport, said discussions behind
the scenes but they would have to deal with situations as they present
themselves.
He added: “I think it is very difficult to establish parameters, like whoever
has the first corner stays in front. We are not doing this.
“We had a long discussion with Paddy [Lowe] and the boys and it was a very
good discussion.
“Everyone gave his opinion about how we should proceed, and we defined that
our main competitors are the other teams.
“We need to make sure that as a team we are running strongly. Then it is to be
decided on a case-by-case [basis] with what is going on with the cars. It
could go one race in one direction and the other race in another direction.
“We have discussed it and found a solution which is acceptable to Nico and
Lewis and to the team.”
Meanwhile, Ferrari’s Kimi Raikkonen, who has looked uncomfortable all weekend,
admitted he crashed on his in-lap and failed to make it through to the final
shootout because of traffic.
“I didn’t have any more time to do an extra lap, so on that lap I would have
come in anyway,” he said.
“I was playing around with the switches or something, and I got a little bit
of wheelspin and touched the wall. But the car is more or less OK.
“It was just my mistake. I got a little bit of wheelspin, I wasn’t pushing
anymore, but I couldn’t catch it.
“That didn’t change the fact we had traffic on the previous lap. There was a
McLaren going very slowly through turn five, and there were some other cars
in front of us, but that’s how it goes sometimes.”