Mercedes has reduced the amount of in-house rules between its drivers to allow them to fight more freely this season.
The rivalry between Lewis Hamilton and Nico Rosberg has dominated the news agenda during the last two seasons of Mercedes domination in Formula One. The rivalry intensified during 2014, leading to an on-track collision at that season's Belgian Grand Prix. The team disciplined both drivers after the incident and built up a number of rules to prevent a repeat.
Last year the drivers were often kept to near identical strategies in order to make racing as fair as possible, but Wolff says the rule book between the two has been reduced over the winter to ensure free racing.
"We have reduced that from last year to this year," Wolff said at a Mercedes event in Stuttgart. "When we started the project in 2013, there was lot of pressure on the team in order to achieve results and win races. We have done OK. In 2014, we won the championship and we confirmed it wasn't a one off in 2015. In order to contain that, we tried to put framework around that. Sometimes it functions, sometimes it doesn't. We learned some interesting lessons, we improved as an organisation.
"With Lewis and Nico, they have been together for a couple of years. It functions pretty well. We owe it to them and we owe it to Formula One to let them race. The ride will be a bit more difficult. But I think that is absolutely necessary. I have no doubt that, they are so implemented in the team, that they understand the momentum and dynamics in the team."
Asked if allowing his drivers to race could make it possible for Ferrari to take advantage, Wolff added: "No, I don't think so because we are reducing the rules because we have got more comfortable in working with each other. There is great respect among the individuals. I don't feel it will be different than it has been in the last years.
"The regulations help us because there is much less engineering input into the car, into the driver much less guidance in terms of strategy, tyre optimisation, how to drive the car so it is much more down to them to drive the car anyway. That's very good for the sport. It puts more pressure and brings in additional new effort for the drivers. By continuing with those regulations, our role has been to step back a little bit. It pretty much fits our strategy in leaving it up to these two to fight it on track."
At the end of last year, Wolff warned his drivers that any situation that destabilises the team would result in a change in driver line-up, but he believes those remarks would be overplayed.
"There is a lot of controversy being made in the winter. The question I was asked in the media was if the rivalry would escalate to point where it becomes very difficult for the team, what would be the solution, my answer was then we would have to consider the line-up. We need to be difficult not to tweak it in the wrong side. We know there is a rivalry. We understand and appreciate there is a rivalry between the two drivers. They are fighting for the championship. This is the most important target for them.
"You cannot expect them to schmooze around. One will try to beat the other. They have great respect for the organisation behind the team, the team sticks together, Lewis and Nico are very much part of it. I have no doubt we will have some interesting moments on track, that is part of the rivalry and it is part of Formula 1 but all within the spirit of the team."