Mercedes braced for more team angst in F1 title battle

Hamilton's British Grand Prix victory on an afternoon where Rosberg failed to finish has left the pair separated by just four points ahead of the halfway stage of the campaign.

Mercedes non-executive chairman Niki Lauda believes that with the title battle effectively reset the intensity of the battle between his two men will ramp up.

And that opens up the prospect of the kind of conflict that the team endured in Spain and Monaco earlier this year.

"Everything is reset like before Lewis had his second retirement [in Canada]," said Lauda.

"Now, they will fight to the end like you would not believe to be world champion - and I will have a hard time."

But despite predicting some tough times ahead, Lauda insists that Mercedes will leave its drivers totally free to fight it out on track rather than impose team orders.

"We will not interfere. This is very important. We didn't interfere from the beginning, so why should we now?

"So it will be interesting to watch now, because they are exactly at the same level."

HAMILTON HIGHS AND LOWS NO WORRY

While Rosberg has delivered at a consistent level all season, Hamilton had had more fluctuations in his form, having had brilliant races but also difficult qualifying sessions.

Lauda says that there is no cause for alarm, however, with what he has seen from Hamilton this year.

"Everybody has highs and lows," he said. "Look at [Sebastian] Vettel. Vettel is a four-time world champion and he moaned and bitched over the last eight races, so if there is one guy with more lows then it is Vettel.

"These things happen, and I think too much is put in to this. Lewis was, from the beginning of the season on a good level, a stable level, and Nico I have to say improved.

"After Monaco, Nico had everything going for him and this is what happens in sport when people fight at the highest level.

"So Nico had everything going for him and Lewis dropped back one millimetre.

"Now Lewis is back on track so I tell you, the next couple of races are going to be interesting."