Former Formula 1 driver Mark Webber has questioned whether Lewis Hamilton and Nico Rosberg can remain team-mates at Mercedes.

The simmering tension between the title contenders became public when they collided at the Belgian Grand Prix.

Webber, who had a bitter intra-team fight with Red Bull's Sebastian Vettel, said: "It's going to be interesting, not just for the rest of the year.

"At the moment it's not a team. Is it OK to have them together in 2015?"
Mercedes' Lewis Hamilton and Nico Rosberg clash at Belgian GP

He added: "It looks like the drivers are doing their own thing. Can they drive together in the future?"

Webber, who quit F1 at the end of last season for a career in endurance racing, said Mercedes were in a "very difficult situation where the drivers are not enjoying a good relationship".

Talking to Red Bull sports show Sport und Talk, the Australian added that he was not sure whether Mercedes motorsport boss Toto Wolff and the team's non-executive chairman Niki Lauda would be able to solve the situation.

"The thing is, who is now going to try to put this back together?" Webber said. "Is it the people who pay Niki's and Toto's wages?

"Because at the end of the day, if the drivers are not listening to these guys, do they have to say 'Lewis and Nico, you go chat to the big guys at Mercedes, because they're paying you guys to get the job done in a team environment'?"

Webber questioned Rosberg's motivation in the incident, which occurred when the Mercedes drivers were contesting the lead on lap two at Spa-Francorchamps on Sunday.

The collision left Briton Hamilton with a puncture that ultimately ended his race and Rosberg with a damaged front wing from which he fought back to gain second place behind Red Bull's Daniel Ricciardo.

"Well, it's... a passing move," Webber said. "Nico is trying to have a look on the outside, but it's Lewis's corner.

"At this point [just before the contact] Nico knows he has no chance to get the move done. It's strange that he tried to come in so tight behind Lewis.
Nico Rosberg and Lewis Hamilton collide at the Belgian Grand Prix

The collision effectively ended Hamilton's chances of getting anything out of the race

"That was a little bit uncharacteristic of Nico - not normally his style, but he made contact.

"It wouldn't have been a big deal at all. It would have been nothing if there was no puncture, but the puncture changed the whole race. In the end both of their races were in trouble."

The result leaves Rosberg 29 points ahead of Hamilton in the championship with 200 still available in the remaining seven races.

Ricciardo's second win in succession means he is only 36 points behind Hamilton, but Webber played down the chances of the Australian challenging for the title.

"Mercedes will really need to implode for Daniel to take the championship," Webber said.

He added that Rosberg and Hamilton would be focusing only on their own private battle at the next race in Monza on 5-7 September.

"Let me tell you, when they get to the track, they'll only be thinking about each other. There's no-one else really in the race," Webber said.

"They are really only focused on beating each other and that's what happens when you have a car that is so dominant.

"They are going to win the constructors' [title] easy, so the drivers know that the constructors' is done, so all that's left is the drivers' championship."

Mercedes have taken disciplinary action against Nico Rosberg following his collision with team-mate Lewis Hamilton in the Belgian Grand Prix.

Championship leader Rosberg accepted responsibility for the collision, calling it an "error of judgement".

The team handed out an undisclosed punishment to Rosberg, likely to be a fine, while agreeing to let them continue racing for the world title.

They have been warned another similar incident "will not be tolerated".
Mercedes' Lewis Hamilton and Nico Rosberg clash at Belgian GP

While Rosberg apologised to Hamilton in a statement on Friday, his British team-mate responded by admitting "we have both made mistakes".

The two drivers collided on lap two of Sunday's race as Rosberg attempted to overtake Hamilton at the Les Combes chicane.

Rosberg's front wing hit Hamilton's left rear tyre, damaging the wing and giving Hamilton a puncture which eventually caused the 2008 world champion's retirement.

Rosberg recovered to finish second behind Red Bull's Daniel Ricciardo, moving into a 29-point championship lead over Hamilton with a maximum of 200 still available over the remaining seven races.

The incident was the culmination of ever-building tension between the two over the preceding 11 races.

It was a consequence of Rosberg wanting to prove a point to Hamilton that he would not be intimidated in wheel-to-wheel racing, after being forced to back out of passing moves in previous battles in the Bahrain and Hungarian Grands Prix.

But in the meeting on Friday Mercedes head of motorsport Toto Wolff and executive director (technical) Paddy Lowe made it clear such actions were unacceptable and laid down strict guidelines for future racing between the two.

The statement said: "During the meeting, Nico acknowledged his responsibility for the contact that occurred on lap two of the Belgian Grand Prix and apologised for this error of judgement.

"Suitable disciplinary measures have been taken for the incident.

"Mercedes-Benz remains committed to hard, fair racing because this is the right way to win world championships. It is good for the team, for the fans and for Formula 1.

"Lewis and Nico understand and accept the team's number one rule: there must be no contact between the team's cars on track.

"They remain free to race for the 2014 FIA Formula 1 world championship.
Andrew Benson's analysis

"Mercedes have tried to draw a line in the only feasible way after team boss Toto Wolff and adviser Niki Lauda came out so strongly against Rosberg after the race.

These actions put Hamilton firmly in the right, but what they have not done is fix the damage done to his title hopes by the incident.

Hamilton, sources close to him say, remains confident he can close the gap given a few trouble-free races. But trouble-free races are exactly what he has not had - not since the Spanish Grand Prix in early May, amazingly.

And any incident that damages both their hopes in a race also helps Rosberg in the championship. It remains, therefore, a combustible situation, and it remains highly likely that this will not be the end of it."

Rosberg released a statement on Friday on his Facebook page, issuing a further apology.

He said: "After meeting with Toto, Paddy and Lewis, I wish to go a step further and describe it as an error of judgement on my part.

"The number one rule for us as team-mates is that we must not collide but that is exactly what happened.

"For that error of judgement, I apologise to Lewis and the team. I also want to say sorry to the fans who were deprived of our battle for the lead in Belgium.

"Lewis and I have been given clear instructions about how we race each other.

"As drivers, we have a clear responsibility to the team, the fans of the sport, our partners and Mercedes-Benz to deliver clean racing. We take that responsibility very seriously."

Hamilton then issued his own Facebook statement, which said: "Nico and I accept that we have both made mistakes and I feel it would be wrong to point fingers and say which one is worse than the other.

"What's important is how we rise as a team from these situations. We win and we lose together and, as a team, we will emerge stronger.

"There is a deep foundation that still exists for me and Nico to work from, in spite of our difficult times and differences.

"The fans want to see a clean fight until the end of the season and that's what we want to give them."