Bottas determined to avoid further team orders in Russia

Valtteri Bottas will not let the spectre of team orders hang over his Russian Grand Prix weekend, despite last year's disappointment and further implementation in Singapore a week ago.

Bottas scored pole position in Sochi last year and was leading the race until Mercedes ordered him to let Lewis Hamilton through to take victory, securing him additional points against Sebastian Vettel in their title battle.

The Finn was again given instructions in Singapore, asked to raise his lap times in order to prevent Hamilton losing too many places as a result of poor strategy handed down from the Mercedes' pit-wall.

Bottas remains Hamilton's closest rival in the drivers' championship, albeit 65 points adrift, and trusts that Mercedes will not intervene this time around.

"I'm not thinking about that any more coming into this weekend," Bottas said of team orders.

"I can't go into details, we always review everything by the finest details with the team. I was in the factory on Tuesday and we had meetings about that and that will keep just for us, whatever we've spoken about it.

"We have certain rules both ways, and they are equal. I just need to make sure I won't be in that situation again."

Bottas has never qualified lower than third at the Sochi Autodrom and secured his maiden F1 victory there in 2017, as well as dominating last year's race until Mercedes' intervention.

"For sure it gives you confidence when you come into a weekend when you know previously it's been one of the good tracks for you," he said.

"So that's obviously a nice way to start the weekend but in every case you always start from zero. Every season every track, every car, always changes a little bit every year.

"So set-up and everything you start from zero but for sure I have a good mindset coming here knowing that it's been good in the past."

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