Daimler chairman Dieter Zetsche insists there will be "no team orders" to settle the outcome of the title battle between warring Mercedes team mates Lewis Hamilton and Nico Rosberg.
His comments, in Bild am Sonntag newspaper, follow hot on the heels of the 2014 Hungarian GP, where Hamilton refused to obey the order to let Rosberg past on a different strategy.
Zetsche said: "Last Sunday there was no emergency situation. The two were not really bumper to bumper, which is why I can well understand Lewis not slowing down to let Nico past."
ONLY IN 'EMERGENCY SITUATIONS'
He said it is only in "emergency situations" that the pitwall will intervene with the free battle between the silver-clad pair.
Zetsche insisted: "At Mercedes there are no team orders. I stand by that. The skill of the drivers and a little bit of luck will in the end decide who has the edge.
"It is true however that Rosberg and Hamilton are not to impede each other with different strategies for example two stops versus three stops."