Wolff: Lewis-Nico fallouts not detrimental to Merc

Giving their drivers equal status requires some "balancing out" every now and then, but Mercedes insist Lewis Hamilton and Nico Rosberg's clashes haven't been detrimental to the team.

Mercedes have made it clear that Hamilton and Rosberg are free to battle each other for race victories as the team don't have a number one and number two driver policy.

It has led to several on-track clashes, which at times threatened to boil over and the recent United States Grand Prix was one such occasion.

The duo nearly made contact at Turn 1 and Rosberg accused Hamilton of being too aggressive, but the Briton felt he did nothing wrong. Rosberg made is frustrations known during the post-race celebrations, but things calmed down quickly after that.

Mercedes motorsport boss Toto Wolff, though, says he is happy to "manage" their relationship.

"I think the relationship is okay," he is quoted as saying by Crash.net. "It is as good as it can be when you've got two drivers competing, being as close as they are in the same car, for the World Championship. You cannot expect them to be best friends.

"We've had our ups and downs but, in general, it wasn't detrimental for the team, it was respectful and when you decide consciously to have a line-up with two drivers with equal status, it's clear that it sometimes needs balancing out but we'd rather do that than have a number one and number two."