Lewis Hamilton insists he has cleared the air with team-mate Nico Rosberg, but in the aftermath of the Monaco Grand Prix there was an overwhelming feeling that a degree of toxicity remained.

The atmosphere on the podium was positively poisonous after Hamilton finished runner-up to Rosberg, with the German securing back-to-back, lights-to-flag wins around the streets of the principality to end the Englishman's run of four successive wins.

Forget a polite nod of acknowledgement or even a terse 'well done', there was not even a glance from one to the other at any stage after the Mercedes colleagues had just secured a record-equalling fifth one-two.

Without doubt Hamilton appeared thoroughly outraged at what he saw as an injustice during qualifying when Rosberg, on provisional pole, out-braked himself into Mirabeau in the closing stages.

The resultant yellow flags then thwarted Hamilton's bid for pole as the 29-year-old, following behind, was on a quicker lap and would likely have claimed top spot on the grid.

Although Hamilton was rarely more than a second off Rosberg from the start of the blue-riband race, for the first 60 out of the 78 laps he did not have a single chance to overtake.

A problem with his left eye then saw him fall behind the German and almost into the clutches of Red Bull's Daniel Ricciardo, who hounded Hamilton over the closing stages, but the Australian ultimately had to settle for third.

After the podium, the post-race press conference was equally frosty, with Hamilton refusing to answer questions with regards to the nature of his relationship with Rosberg. Later, and with his mood having softened, it was a far different Hamilton that was involved in a separate press briefing.

Asked whether there was anything he needed to clear up with Rosberg, he replied: "No, not really.

"We've sat down and cleared whatever air was needed to be cleared, and we've been through the data and seen what needed to be seen. I wish you guys could see it.

"Otherwise, we're good. It was a difficult weekend, but what doesn't break you will make you stronger. I can only get stronger for this weekend."

Pressed to expand on the nature of the data, Hamilton said: "I saw something late last night [Saturday]. All I could do was smile."

As to whether Rosberg's actions in qualifying were deliberate - and he was ultimately cleared by the race stewards - Hamilton said: "Look man, the weekend's done and dusted.

"We've a one-two for the team, so let's just focus on moving forward."

With Mercedes 141 points clear of Red Bull in the constructors' title race, and with the duo romping clear in the drivers' standings - with Rosberg again four points ahead - Hamilton would like to believe the season is "running successfully".

However, he added: "It is never going to be perfect because we're fierce competitors. You can never expect us to be best friends and compete as fiercely as we do, but we will remain respectful, or I will try to remain respectful."

As for Rosberg's take on his relationship with Hamilton, he said: "It's fine. We've had discussions, and the benefit we have is we've known each other for so long.

"We always sit down, discuss and then move on, and that's what we've done this weekend."

Behind the podium trio, at the end of a race that included two safety car periods and saw eight retirements, one of the highlights was Jules Bianchi's ninth place, giving Marussia their first points in F1 in their 83rd race.