Hamilton and Russell won’t ‘jeopardise’ Mercedes - Wolff

Hamilton and Russell came to blows in dramatic fashion on the opening lap in Qatar in an incident which forced the seven-time world champion into retirement and left Russell at the back of the field.

Russell recovered to salvage fourth place while Hamilton put his hands up and took full responsibility for the collision, after both drivers had initially blamed each other on team radio.

Hamilton and Russell were later seen embracing in the Qatar paddock as they appeared to put the incident behind them.

There have been suggestions that there will be more fireworks between the Mercedes duo, but team principal Wolff doubts that will be the case.

“The last round in Qatar was a case of what might have been,” Wolff said. “As a team, you never want to see your cars collide. It was frustrating to leave a lot of points on the table, particularly as the pace of the car was strong.

“It was encouraging though to see how the drivers and the team reacted. Both Lewis and George know the team comes first and do not ever intend to jeopardise that. I am sure we will all grow from this moment.

“We're now focused on Austin and making sure we get the most out of each upcoming weekend.”

Mercedes will introduce a new floor upgrade to the W14 at this weekend’s United States Grand Prix in the hope it will boost their bid to claim second spot in the constructors' championship.

“We'll be bringing a modified floor, which is the last significant update we will take to the track this year,” Wolff said. “It will hopefully bring a small gain but more importantly, is another milestone in setting our development path for W15.

“The battle for second in the Constructors' has become more intense in recent races.“We will keep our heads down, keep pushing and aim to score as many points as we can to increase our advantage.”