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Wolff insists Hamilton/Rosberg tensions now behind

Mercedes boss Toto Wolff says the team has made sure tensions between Lewis Hamilton and Nico Rosberg will not carry over into this weekend's Bahrain Grand Prix.

1st place Lewis Hamilton Mercedes AMG F1 with 2nd place Nico Rosberg Mercedes AMG F1 W06

XPB Images

Nico Rosberg Mercedes AMG F1 and team mate Lewis Hamilton Mercedes AMG F1 in the FIA Press Conference
Race winner Lewis Hamilton Mercedes AMG F1 celebrates with the champagne on the podium with second placed team mate Nico Rosberg Mercedes AMG F1
Lewis Hamilton, Mercedes AMG F1 Team and Nico Rosberg, Mercedes AMG F1 Team
Nico Rosberg Mercedes AMG F1 celebrates his second position with the team in parc ferme
Nico Rosberg, Mercedes AMG F1 Team and Sebastian Vettel, Scuderia Ferrari
Daniil Kvyat, Red Bull Racing RB11 retired from the race with a blown engine, and is passed by Nico Rosberg, Mercedes AMG F1 W06
(L to R): Toto Wolff, Mercedes AMG F1 Shareholder and Executive Director with Nico Rosberg, Mercedes AMG F1

The duo clashed post-race in Shanghai after Rosberg criticised race winner Hamilton for compromising his own chances of victory by not driving fast enough, according to the German.

Hamilton insisted he had done nothing wrong and told Rosberg he should have pushed him harder if he wanted to win.

The drivers met with team management after the Chinese Grand Prix, in talks that Rosberg described as "constructive".

Wolff claims Mercedes' drivers have cleared the air and says they are fully focused on the Bahrain weekend.

"We saw tensions between Nico and Lewis in the race and we tackled them directly on Sunday night to stop anything carrying over to this weekend," said Wolff in a team preview.

"When you have intense competition, it's normal that it causes emotions to run high - and that's not something we want to change.

"But both drivers are now very focused on delivering maximum performance in Bahrain and our package should cope well with the demands of the circuit.

"We maintain our philosophy of letting the drivers race - but they both know that the number one priority for the team is to win for Mercedes-Benz."

Ferrari threat real

Wolff, whose team scored a one-two in China after losing out to Ferrari in Malaysia, believes the last race confirmed that the Italian squad will be a threat all year long, and not just when track temperatures are high like they were at Sepang.

"After the wake-up call in Malaysia, it was satisfying to see how the team pulled together for the race in China," he said.

"We did our homework, made improvements and scored a strong one-two finish.

"But China also confirmed that Ferrari will be a threat in all conditions this year, not just when it's very hot, and that we will have new challenges to face as a team, with another competitor who is much closer to our level of performance. "

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