Toto Wolff has admitted that the relationship between Mercedes' two high-profile drivers will never be ideal.
His comments come after Hamilton disagreed with Rosberg not being penalised in qualifying, leading to a heated exchanged between the pair in the post-race press conference at the Hungarian Grand Prix.
Bild newspaper is reporting that Hamilton plans to again raise the issue in Friday's pre-race briefing at Hockenheim, and that Mercedes are not overly happy with the Brit's approach..
Although happy with his driver pairing, team boss Wolff has admitted the situation between the pair is "not perfect".
"A perfect pairing would be two number ones at the same level, both capable of winning the world championship and not generating any controversy," he told Sport Bild. "But this is an illusion that does not exist. We have opted for this philosophy for the benefits it has to the team but with the disadvantage that we have to do a lot of people management."
"There is always one winner and one loser, one happy and one unhappy one each Sunday."
But despite the fragile nature of the relationship, Wolff insisted the rivalry works for Mercedes.
"Their relationship is constantly changing, it's up and down, but they're in their fourth year and fighting for the title for the third time and so far it has gone relatively well," he said. "We don't know for how long that will be the case, and there may be a point in which we say 'We did it for four or five or six years but can't do it any more."
"Then it may be that we need to exchange the drivers or change the philosophy. So far we aren't there yet but it is a wild horse that we ride," he added.
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