Defending Formula One world champion Lewis Hamilton insists he will continue to "go for the gap" despite the risk of heavy punishment from Mercedes. 

Hamilton and team-mate Nico Rosberg are on their final warning from the German manufacturer after the two collided on the last lap of the Austrian Grand Prix in Spielberg last Sunday.  

The collision, caused by Rosberg, saw the championship leader drop from first to fourth in the race due to front nose damage, with Hamilton going on to take the chequered flag. 

It was the second time this season the Mercedes duo crashed into each other following their race-ending collision in the first lap of the Spanish Grand Prix in May. 

A Mercedes statement said the two are still allowed to race each other despite the Austria incident, but a third collision in 2016 could see the drivers receive a hefty penalty from the team, which could in turn dent their championship hopes.

But Hamilton remains unconcerned, quoting a famous saying from his idol Ayrton Senna - a 41-time F1 race winner. 

"I'm always going to go for the gap," the three-time F1 world champion said ahead of this weekend's British Grand Prix in Silverstone. 

"Like Ayrton would always say, 'If you don't go for the gap, you are no longer a racing driver'. 

"I will never stop being a racing driver."

Hamilton is aiming for his fourth win at his home Grand Prix on Sunday, starting the weekend brightly after topping both of Friday's free practice sessions. 

"The car is definitely feeling good, but we've definitely got some work to do with the balance," the 31-year-old said. 

"What is really difficult is to pinpoint exactly where the target is from corner to corner - because of the wind, the target is moving everywhere. 

"You've got a couple of similar high-speed corners but, from one corner, you have oversteer and, another, you have understeer, then another one is balanced, so it's difficult to know where you have got to change the car. 

"But we'll work hard to do it. We've managed pretty much every other race we go to."