"Team orders are now on the table" warns Wolff

40

The latest on-track encounter between arch-rivals Lewis Hamilton and Nico Rosberg has been met with frustration and anger by the Mercedes team's management.

The pair collided on the ultimate lap of the Austrian GP, with Rosberg aggressively defending his leading position as the Silver Arrows duo entered Turn 2.

The German eventually lost out in the dual, damaging his front wing and losing what appeared to be, at the very minimum, points associated with a second place finish.

Initially labeling the antics of his drivers as 'brainless', Mercedes boss Toto Wolff eventually cast a more reflective opinion on an incident where Rosberg appeared as the main culprit.

"Nico had a brake-by-wire failure into Turn 1," Wolff explained from the outset.

"Defending into Turn 2, you can stay on the inside but the brakes were gone and that's' when it all started."

Speaking to Sky Sports, Wolff was confronted with footage of Nico Rosberg who appeared reluctant to turn into the corner in a timely fashion, as he tried to force Hamilton as much as possible off the track.

"It is racing, but cars colliding seems like 'déjà vu' for us. It is absolutely not what we want and we just need to take the consequences now."

Speaking about the future and how to prevent Mercedes' drivers from finding themselves once again in such a damaging situation, Wolff said that he will now not rule out resorting to team orders.

"Can you imagine two cars DNFing after Turn 2 for Mercedes, like in Barcelona ? We would be looking like a bunch of idiots and it would be disrespectful to 1500 people who work their nuts off to prepare the cars.

"This is why this needs to end. It seems that talking doesn't bring us any further, so we need to think about all possible solutions. And this can go as far as implementing the not very popular team orders.

"This is now on the table, this is what we are going to discuss because it may be the only way we can manage the situation.""I hate team orders," Wolff concluded.

"We owe it to the fans to them race, and we like it, it is why we are here. But if every race ends up in a collision between team mates, it is not what we want and this why we have to stop it."

AS IT HAPPENED: Austrian Grand Prix

Breakfast with ... Alexander Rossi

F1i Classic: Penske's emotional Austrian GP win

Keep up to date with all the F1 news via Facebook and Twitter

Phillip van Osten

Motor racing was a backdrop from the outset in Phillip van Osten's life. Born in Southern California, Phillip grew up with the sights and sounds of fast cars thanks to his father, Dick van Osten, an editor and writer for Auto Speed and Sport and Motor Trend. Phillip's passion for racing grew even more when his family moved to Europe and he became acquainted with the extraordinary world of Grand Prix racing. He was an early contributor to the monthly French F1i Magazine, often providing a historic or business perspective on Formula 1's affairs. In 2012, he co-authored along with fellow journalist Pierre Van Vliet the English-language adaptation of a limited edition book devoted to the great Belgian driver Jacky Ickx. He also authored "The American Legacy in Formula 1", a book which recounts the trials and tribulations of American drivers in Grand Prix racing. Phillip is also a commentator for Belgian broadcaster Be.TV for the US Indycar series.