Mercedes to keep 'driver rules' in 2017

Mercedes will still issue their drivers written rules of engagement ahead of the 2017 season, which kicks off in 30 days time.

Mercedes have handled a tense battle between Nico Rosberg and Lewis Hamilton over the past number of years, causing the Brackely based team to distribute a set of rules to the pair.

Despite Rosberg's sudden retirement, new boy Valtteri Bottas must top himself up on the rules as he targets success and an intense battle with team mate Lewis Hamilton.

"We have an internal paper that has grown with our experience over the years," team boss Toto Wolff told the German broadcaster RTL.

And he is also quoted by London's Times newspaper: "We are maybe going to call it differently and trim it a little bit, add the bits that were missing, but not make it a complex regulation.

"We have to see how the season gets started," Wolff added. "It might be completely different in terms of the dynamics between the drivers and the dynamic with other teams. But the basic concept stays."

Fergal Walsh