Niki Lauda says Mercedes is happy to let the “egocentric bastards” Lewis Hamilton and Nico Rosberg race each other after another spat between the two team-mates.

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Rosberg accused Hamilton of deliberately backing him in to Sebastian Vettel during the second stint in the Chinese Grand Prix, compromising Rosberg’s race.

While Hamilton hit back by saying his team-mate was “no real threat” in the race, Lauda says it is natural for an F1 driver to be selfishly thinking about how their own race went.

“Sure, [Hamilton] will drive selfish,” Lauda said. “These guys … I call them egocentric bastards, let’s say, and this is the only way to win a championship. It’s the oldest thing.

“So Nico does the same to Lewis and Lewis the same to Nico in the end if the s**t hits the fan. I fully agree, this is the way it is. Therefore we race.”

And Lauda also doesn’t mind the issues surfacing between the two drivers as long as they keep Ferrari at bay.

“We are first and second and I don’t care if there is a quarrel, as long as Vettel is third. All this internal up and down, let’s wait and see, they’ll sit down, have a briefing, they’ll cool down and it will be quickly stopped.

“One thing is clear from my point of view, Lewis had pole position and controlled the race from the beginning to the end. Therefore there is no need for a quarrel.”

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