Bottas unconcerned by team orders... for now

Valtteri Bottas is unconcerned with Mercedes dispensing team orders, believing his best results are still to come while also admitting there was no point on dwelling on a situation he considered as hypothetical.

In Bahrain two weeks ago, as he struggled with tyre degradation, Bottas was asked by the Mercedes pit wall to make way for faster team mate Lewis Hamilton.

The situation prompted pundits to ask whether a hierarchy had already been established at the German outfit.

"This team has never really had a number one or a number two driver and is not planning to – it's always trying to give an equal chance to both drivers," Bottas said in today's media conference.

"What is different this year... the last three years, the gap to the second quickest team has been bigger.

"Maybe every single detail, letting the drivers race hard, or one being stuck behind another at times, hasn't cost anything. But I do understand the fact that this year it can cost points.

"I feel that all of my good results are still on the way. I'm not thinking about anything like that [team orders], and I'm sure for the team also there's no need to."

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If a state of affairs developped where he would be asked to move over for his team mate, Bottas would comply however.

"If I have some issues in this race, we're on a different strategy or Lewis is stuck behind me… if the team asks me to move over, I will.

"Of course, I will do everything I can not to be in that position, to have my own race and personal result, but I'm a team player and in the long run that's going to reward you and the team."

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Phillip van Osten

Motor racing was a backdrop from the outset in Phillip van Osten's life. Born in Southern California, Phillip grew up with the sights and sounds of fast cars thanks to his father, Dick van Osten, an editor and writer for Auto Speed and Sport and Motor Trend. Phillip's passion for racing grew even more when his family moved to Europe and he became acquainted with the extraordinary world of Grand Prix racing. He was an early contributor to the monthly French F1i Magazine, often providing a historic or business perspective on Formula 1's affairs. In 2012, he co-authored along with fellow journalist Pierre Van Vliet the English-language adaptation of a limited edition book devoted to the great Belgian driver Jacky Ickx. He also authored "The American Legacy in Formula 1", a book which recounts the trials and tribulations of American drivers in Grand Prix racing. Phillip is also a commentator for Belgian broadcaster Be.TV for the US Indycar series.