Hamilton was told to allow team-mate and drivers' championship leader Nico Rosberg past with 20 laps remaining of Sunday's grand prix.
After starting in the pit lane, Hamilton had worked his way up to third in a race affected by rain and multiple safety cars, while Rosberg - who began on pole - had dropped to fourth with a third of the race left.
Hamilton was instructed to allow Rosberg through because the two were on different tyre strategies, with the Briton going to the end and the German requiring one more pit stop.
But the 2008 world champion defied that order, staying in front for a further nine laps before Rosberg pitted.
Hamilton's third-place finish cut the gap between the two at the top of the standings to 11 points with eight races remaining.
Mercedes non-executive chairman Niki Lauda has backed Hamilton's defiance, and executive director Toto Wolff has now conceded that the intensity of the title fight may force the team to re-evaluate how they approach races.
"This [abandoning team orders] is one of the thoughts we are having," Wolff said. "Maybe the situation is now different to the bit of paper we had at the beginning of the season.
"At the moment, we have a 170-point advantage in the constructors' championship and maybe it is a moment of loosening it a bit, in agreement with both of them.
"The longer the season goes, the more intense it gets, and the more difficult it is to beat your team-mate.
"At the beginning of the season it is easy to say these are the rules and this is how we are going to do it. But now it is clear: these two are fighting for the world championship.
"Maybe we have come to a point where what we had at the beginning of the season doesn't function anymore, because we cannot ask either driver to give up positions or jeopardise their own campaign and championship chances for the benefit of the team."