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Formula One: No talk of team orders at Mercedes, insists Bottas

Valtteri Bottas does not envisage any need for Mercedes to discuss team orders after he was twice told to allow Lewis Hamilton through during the Bahrain Grand Prix.

Bottas started on pole for the first time in his Formula One career under the lights in Sakhir, but finished third.

The Finn was told to allow Hamilton to pass him on two occasions to give the three-time world champion the best possible opportunity to chase down Sebastian Vettel.

Vettel was not to be denied his second victory of the season, though, as the Ferrari driver finished 6.660 seconds ahead of Hamilton.

Bottas claimed holding talks over team orders is not on the agenda ahead of the Russian Grand Prix this weekend and reiterated that there is no pecking order at Mercedes.

"No, we have not had the conversation because I don't think there is any need to," the 27-year-old stated.

"This team never had number one or two drivers and it is not planning to. It always tries to give [an] equal chance to both drivers.

"But what is different this year is that for the last three years the gap to the second-quickest team has been bigger, so every single detail, letting the drivers race hard, hasn't cost them anything.

"I do understand that this year it could cost points for any reason like for me in Bahrain where the pace was not good then the team needs to think, to be clever. But we've only had three races this year and I feel all my good results are on the way.

"I'm not thinking about anything like that and I'm sure for the team there is no need to."

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