Eyeing the situation at McLaren, Toto Wolff makes it clear to his drivers that neither is bigger than the team.

Of course, as fans lap up the intensifying intra team battle between Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris, they recall the similar situation between Lewis Hamilton and Nico Rosberg which boiled over on a couple of controversial occasions.

With every race Kimi Antonelli's confidence appears to grow, and while the team has yet to extend George Russell's contract, it is anticipated that Mercedes will continue with the pair moving forward.

However, Wolff is keen to make clear to his drivers that actions have consequences, and neither is bigger than the team for which he is driving.

"If you are selfish and you put our joint success at risk, or you damage our brand, then I'm going to be ruthless about it. You have no part in this team," he tells Bloomberg Hot Pursuit. "There are other people who are part of your success.

"And how I've been managing this from the first day that I've been in Formula 1 is that I make no difference between the two drivers and the rest of the company," he adds.

"I've been telling them that there are 2,500 superstars in this team. Whether they work in the machine shop, in the cleaning, in aerodynamics or driving the car, I'm not going to treat you any differently than any of the other people.

"That philosophy has worked because our drivers have understood that, they respect that," he insists. "They care that everybody you know is part of the success, and they realise that when they crash into each other, people can't pay their mortgages because they don't earn their bonuses."

Quite why the Austrian feels the need to say this isn't clear. Of course, the recent incident involving the McLaren pair in Canada comes to mind, but there is currently not even a hint of such rivalry at Mercedes.

Naturally, as Antonelli's confidence grows he will take the fight to his teammate, in much the same way as Russell did with Hamilton, however one can't help but feel that perhaps the Austrian might be thinking outside the box, say in the arrival of another, not quite so unselfish driver.

Asked the character traits he looks for in a driver, Wolff admits that other than the obvious, "the best ones also have social intelligence, emotional intelligence.

"They know how to manoeuvre a paddock," he adds. "They are career-driven and focused... but they are not selfish."

In his time with Mercedes, Wolff has worked with the sport's two seven-time champions.

"Lewis Hamilton is a fantastic team player and he's been the most successful of all time," he says. "Michael Schumacher was able to assemble a team around him and be hugely successful.

"So you see that with the best, talent and ambition, but also consciousness that it doesn't all revolve around yourself."