Lewis Hamilton
Hamilton and Rosberg have endured a tempestuous relationship on and off the track Getty

KEY POINTS

  • The three-time world champion appeals to owner Toto Wolff after incident at Austrian Grand Prix.
  • Mercedes chief has threatened to employ team orders after pair crash for second time in five races.
  • Hamilton trails Rosberg by 11 points heading into British Grand Prix at Silverstone.

Lewis Hamilton wants Mercedes to resist enforcing team orders to prevent further incidents between himself and teammate Nico Rosberg. The drivers' world championship rivals collided during the final lap of the Austrian Grand Prix, the second time in five races this season, with Hamilton going on to claim victory and cut the German's lead in the title race to 11 points.

Silver Arrows chief Toto Wolff labelled the episode, which led to Rosberg's damaged car limping to a fourth place finish at the Red Bull Ring, as "brainless" but refused to attribute blame to either driver. But after watching the duo crash again, the 44-year-old threatened to reintroduce team orders ahead of the British Grand Prix.

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Team orders, which were reintroduced to Formula 1 in 2010, have long been a bone of contention in the sport and allow officials to dictate the strategy of their cars during races - meaning overtaking could be banned between the Mercedes pair. Hamilton, the beneficiary of the episode in Austria, naturally wants the freedom to compete and feels team orders will dilute the spectacle.

"I want to race," said Hamilton, who claimed the 250th race win by a British driver in Spielberg. "I grew up wanting to race. I wanted to get to Formula 1 and race the best and be the best by out-driving another individual.

"I think they showed a replay of Michael [Schumacher] and [Rubens] Barrichello many years ago - and I was disappointed as a fan back then. We never want to see team orders like that ever happen. The great thing is that Toto and Niki [Lauda] have been great these last three years and allowed us to race and that's what racing is about.

"It's not always going to be blue skies and perfect - but that's motor racing. Every engineer and mechanic has been through Formula Ford, Formula Renault, all the different categories and seen the good and the bad and know these things can happen. We are driving at 200-plus miles an hour. You expect us to drive around and never, ever have a problem? I doubt it. So I hope that it doesn't change and we can continue to race. That's just my honest opinion from a love of this sport."