Gary Anderson: Managing the Mercedes drivers

Six races into the season and it could not be any closer between the two Mercedes drivers, who exchanged the world championship lead in both the Spanish and Monaco Grands Prix.

But it's not just about the battle on the track. It has become a battle of words - and some might argue of actions - with Lewis Hamilton and Nico Rosberg's rivalry becoming more intense with every passing race weekend.

When you have two drivers operating at more or less an equal level, both at similar stages in their careers and who know that one of them will be world championship, you have to expect fireworks. But for a team like Mercedes, the big question is how you turn something that has such damaging potential into a positive.

During my career, I worked with quite a few drivers who were, to say the least, very much not drinking partners when they were team-mates. But provided they respected each other on and off the track, it was not a problem.

But it was when that respect disappeared that something had to be done. This is why Niki Lauda is right to intervene and ensure it's sorted out before the next race in Canada.

Hamilton and Rosberg's relationship has hit a new low © LAT

It is essential for someone to step in or else Mercedes risks throwing away a season that has the potential to be the best by any team in the history of F1.

McLaren dominated in 1988, winning 15 out of 16 races, and Mercedes could do even better. The team has to be bigger than any individual.

At a time like this, the firm hand and logical thinking of Ross Brawn will be sorely missed. He's someone that both drivers knew would not take any bullshit; they both respected him for his achievements, his ability to get the job done and, most significantly, his fairness.

With the management structure Mercedes has now, it's difficult to know who should be the one person that lays it on the line and takes control as Ross would have done. Is it Niki Lauda, Paddy Lowe or Toto Wolff?

From what I've seen and heard, Hamilton was the one that started throwing stones. His statement about being hungrier for success than Rosberg was actually a little sad. He talked about living on his dad's settee while Nico was living it up in Monaco. Give me a break.

His dad gave him everything he could, and Lewis first got involved - on merit - with McLaren when he was 13. How many drivers of potential world championship calibre never got to show what they were capable of because they never had such an opportunity?

As for Rosberg, I like him. He's a very good driver who has worked through the bad days and has helped to build a team that's now capable of wining a championship. This is his first big opportunity and I don't blame him for wanting to do that having joined the team when it was still on its way up.

Rosberg seems unaffected by any mind games © LAT

Rosberg just goes about his business on track and lets his driving do the talking. I know people have different opinions as to what happened in qualifying when he went into the run-off area at Mirabeau, causing a yellow flag that affected Lewis's potential pole lap. But that was on-track action and as far as I'm concerned, all's fair in love and war.

If you're going to try to break someone through the media, then you need to be strong-minded enough to see it through. I'm not sure Lewis is that person.

During a race, we also hear a lot on the radio about what everyone except him is doing wrong. In Monaco it was about the pitstop timing and how the team should have brought him in the lap before the safety car came out; and now in the media it is how McLaren would have done just that.

He needs to remember China 2007 when McLaren left him out on worn intermediates. They were so bad he went off when they finally called him in, and that misjudgement probably cost him a rookie world championship.

Teams make right and wrong decisions. Behind closed doors, say what you feel you need to say; but on the radio, when potentially the world can hear, keep your mouth shut.

We all thought that Monaco could be the big chance for a Red Bull or a Ferrari to nick a win, but the good news for Mercedes is it proved it has a car for all track configurations. Nobody else has had a sniff at a pole position or a win, and the team's performance has made Red Bull's dominance in previous years look mediocre!

Mercedes has half-a-second or even more on anyone else. At the current rate, we could see the constructors' championship won at the Italian or Singapore GPs.

Ricciardo has been the 'best of the rest' in 2014 © LAT

But the drivers' championship is different matter. If they keep going as they have done so far, it will be a ding-dong battle right down to the chequered flag in Abu Dhabi.

Outside of Mercedes, Daniel Ricciardo has definitely emerged as best of the rest. I spend a lot of time watching trackside and he is driving excellently. He is so precise and consistent and looks very at ease in his new environment.

As for Sebastian Vettel, it's as if he's used up all his good luck, as anything that can go wrong seems to go wrong on his car.

Fernando Alonso did another good job in a car that looks like it has a mind of its own -when I'm out on track it never seems to do the same thing twice. Kimi Raikkonen was again on for a good result, but the bad luck went his way and in the end fastest lap on a new set of tyres was all he took away from Monaco.

But two drivers that punched above their weight were Nico Hulkenberg and Jules Bianchi. Put Hulk in a position to get a good result, and he will always bring it home.

As for Bianchi, he and Marussia really deserve those two points. From John Booth downwards, they are a team of real racers. How refreshing it is to see that success in an F1 world over-run with politics and back-stabbing.