US GP start discussed by Mercedes to avoid more controversy

The Mercedes motorsport boss has confirmed discussions have taken place with his drivers following the incident that unfolded at Austin.

Rosberg felt aggrieved as he dropped from first to fifth after being forced wide by Hamilton, while Wolff suggested the racing between them was "very hard".

After claiming he has since reviewed the incident "30 times in order to make up my mind", Wolff added: "My conclusion is both Lewis and Nico race each other hard, it was tricky circumstances in a difficult corner.

"They were side-by-side, with maybe even Nico having a tiny advantage on the outside. It was hard racing.

"Do I want to see cars touching? No, I don't want to see that.

"How many pages of rules do we need to come up with to cover every situation?

"We have had the conversation about Turn 1.

"It doesn't need to be dragged out in the media because I'm not the headmaster.

"They are the two best drivers out there. At a certain stage, responsibility needs to be in their hands.

"Sometimes it's harder, sometimes it's trickier for us, but the rule remains the same - we don't need controversy in team, we don't need tension.

"We've 1200 people who are the best in the world in this business, and everyone needs to understand that."

With an all-Mercedes front-row lock-out again for the Mexican Grand Prix, and given the long run down to Turn 1, there is the opportunity for another wheel-to-wheel battle between the pair.

"With Turn 1, it's always tricky when it is so close between team-mates and racing cars in general," said Wolff.

"We want to see them race, and not pre-agree before the race has even started as to who goes first through the corner and who goes second.

"It makes the whole thing less exciting.

"We continue to support them in racing hard and optimising the result, but of course for the team it's very important we have no controversy.

"If the cars collide, that's causing controversy, and if its getting a tiny bit hard, it's causing controversy as well.

"But there is no need to discuss it again. We've had conversations regularly, we've had discussions after Austin.

"They are both absolutely aware of the situation."