Mercedes has given George Russell and Kimi Antonelli the green light to compete freely against one another, provided they maintain mutual respect on track.
The decision follows team discussions held this week after the pair clashed twice during the Canadian Grand Prix weekend, making minor contact in both the Sprint and main race.
"It was left that we have to be trusted. This is what we do. We're drivers. We push ourselves to the limit every single lap," Russell explained ahead of this weekend's Monaco Grand Prix.
Antonelli confirmed the team reviewed "all the episodes of the race" during their talks.
George Russell explains that Mercedes have given him the green light to battle Kimi Antonelli
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"The end of the discussion was, you can race each other freely, as long as there's respect, as long as you don't put yourself in situations that could damage one of you or both of you. The team doesn't want to put in any rules," the Italian said.
Russell emerged victorious in the Sprint but was forced to retire from the main race after 30 laps due to an engine failure, leaving him 43 points adrift of his teammate in the championship standings.
Despite the setback, the British driver remains confident about his title prospects.
"It's anybody's to win still," Russell stated.
"A lot of emotions in the moment, of course, but now when I've looked at it, I've looked over championships in the past, I don't think there's ever been a season where the winner hasn't had some form of bad luck at one point."
George Russell and Kimi Antonelli's battle in Canada saw the Briton retire from an engine failure
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He pointed to examples including Lando Norris's breakdown at Zandvoort last year and Max Verstappen's tyre failure in Azerbaijan during 2021.
Antonelli has claimed four consecutive Grand Prix victories following his triumph in Canada, contributing to Mercedes' unbeaten record on Sundays this season alongside Russell's Australian Grand Prix win.
The Italian teenager acknowledged being "surprised" by his impressive start to the campaign but insisted discussions about championship prospects are premature.
"It's difficult to think about losing something when you don't even have it. I didn't win the championship, so how can I lose something that I didn't even achieve?" Antonelli said.
He added that his approach remains unchanged: "I just continue on trying to excel, try to do my best whenever I go in the car."
Kimi Antonelli is running away with the championship currently | REUTERSBoth drivers expect Ferrari to hold the upper hand at Monaco this weekend, with the street circuit's characteristics negating Mercedes' power unit advantage.
"It's clear a big part of our advantage compared to Ferrari has been in the power unit and in Monaco, because there are not many straights, the power-unit advantage is substantially less," Russell explained.
He added: "We know Charles [Leclerc] especially, but Ferrari, have always been very strong here so we expect them to probably be the fastest this weekend but I hope I'm wrong."
Regarding his Canadian engine failure, Russell confirmed the battery sustained severe damage requiring sea freight transportation back to the factory, though he expects no lasting performance impact.