Mercedes' Finnish driver Valtteri Bottas attends the drivers press conference ahead of the Formula One Russian Grand Prix at the Sochi Autodrom circuit in Sochi on April 27, 2017. / AFP PHOTO / ANDREJ ISAKOVIC (Photo credit should read ANDREJ ISAKOVIC/AFP/Getty Images)

Mercedes driver Valtteri Bottas took part in the official Thursday press conference ahead of this weekend's Russian Grand Prix where one of the hot topics was the fact that he was asked to let Lewis Hamilton through during the recent Bahrain Grand Prix.

There was a lot of discussion about this team order so early in the season, but Valtteri explained that he was more than okay with it as he was suffering a technical issue with his car and Lewis was definitely the faster of the two Silver Arrows at the time….

Valtteri, you made a step forward in qualifying last time out but to use your own words the race was a disappointment. Given you have a record here in Sochi, are you confident that this is the place to make that final step?
Yeah, I think definitely it has been getting better in each qualifying of the year and feeling that I can definitely extract more and more out of the car and had a nice lap in Bahrain on Saturday but, yeah, it is Sunday that counts and to be honest I think the first race of the year in Melbourne, as a Sunday, was the best one for me. It was the most trouble-free race for me. Been having quite a few difficulties in China and Bahrain – technically, with different kinds of things in the race. So hoping for a good one here. We have a strong package and obviously the fight with Ferrari is extremely close and every single bit is going to count, so yeah, just hoping for a good weekend.

You just referenced the technical problems you had in Bahrain. But you then went and did 143 laps in testing after the grand prix, during which you said you'd learned a few tricks. I just wondered what those tricks might be?
Like I said, it's all about fine details with the fight between us and Ferrari and obviously it's very close between team-mates as well, so every single bit helps. It was quite critical in Bahrain with the tyres, in terms of keeping them in the right window and with the tyre pressure issues we had it made it even more tricky. Bahrain testing allowed me to try a bit of different things for that really – how to manage the tyres. In terms of race pace and temperatures and pressure and everything we could experience a lot of different things. We found small things as a team, but small things are going to help. It is completely different conditions here in Russia, different tarmac, different temperatures, so we are facing different challenges here.

You've now completed your first 100 days as a Mercedes driver. How would you sum it up, how's it gone?
Busy! Especially since January when everything was signed and announced it has been a busy time. But I have to say these 100 days, I've never in my life learned so much in that short period of time. I feel like I've been developing well. I've managed to get really into the team, I feel completely part of the team and I feel like I'm in a very good place. The team is really helping me with that. I've learned massively but that's going to continue.

When you signed, did you expect that it would be so hard, so difficult and which is so far in your opinion the biggest mistake you made?
I can answer the second question first: spinning behind the safety car in China, I think that's the biggest mistake I've done, it could be through my career most likely… For sure I always knew it was going to be a big challenge: a late change of team in mid-January, going up against Lewis, probably one of the quickest drivers ever, so I always knew the facts of changing team. I have to say there was quite a bit more stuff to really get good at, in terms of really learning how the team operates and how the team is setting up the cars – different kind of tools to what I'm used to, and a different way of thinking in some ways. Getting to understand that 100% there has been quite a bit of work. Obviously all kinds of other things: how the car behaves mechanically, new tyres, new cars, which is the same for everyone. So I wouldn't say I underestimated the change, but it's definitely been a challenge as I expected but like I say, I'm getting there. My goal was to be able to extract everything there is in the car in the first race, first qualifying. I don't feel like that I maybe achieved. But also allowed myself some time, not to put too much pressure. I knew that it's not going to be easy. But like I said, feeling very comfortable now, good with the car, good with the team. Overall a good feeling, just happy to continue and get some results.

As you mentioned, your qualifying has been getting better and better but your race pace has not been what you expected. But it's especially in the first half of the races that you seem to be struggling more, when the car is on full tanks. Have you find out why is that and in testing in Bahrain did you find a remedy for that?
Yes, so like I said, I think Australia was the only race when everything was actually working as it should in the car. There was a small mechanical issue in China which was affecting the balance of the car quite a lot and it made the race overall quite tricky. Plus, I didn't maybe do the best job with the softer compound in the beginning. And in Bahrain my race was compromised with the issue we had with the generator on the grid, meaning the tyre pressures were way too high and the first stint was very poor. We were hoping the second stint would be better, so we fitted another set of supersofts. It was better, but we didn't manage to be really in the window with the supersoft. At the same time Lewis changed to softs and that was why there was a massive difference with the pace and then we were on different strategy, different points of having the stops and to be honest it made me look really bad in the race and slow, but for sure we had some issues as well. But I feel that with a normal, trouble-free race the good results will come and we can have a strong result with both cars, definitely.

Valtteri, it looks like it's going to be tight, obviously, between yourselves and Ferrari this year. With that in mind, have you had a conversation with Toto or any of the management about when one of you or Lewis might become the number one or number two driver?
No, we have not had the conversation because I don't think there is any need to. This team never really has had number one or number two drivers and is not planning to. It's always trying to give and equal chance for both drivers. But what is different this year is, for the team the last three years, the gap to the second quickest team has been bigger. So maybe every single detail – letting the drivers race hard, or one being stuck behind the other at times hasn't cost anything. But I do understand the fact that this year it can cost points. If for any reason, like for me In Bahrain, the pace of the other car is not good then the team needs to think and be clever and not to lose any points. We've only had three races this year and I feel all my good results are still on the way, so at least I am not thinking about anything like that and I'm sure also for the team there's no need to.

Based on the latest information from the FIA, it appears as though the cockpit Shield has received the nod for 2018 over the Halo. What do you think about the Shield and which one would you prefer the Shield or the Halo?
I don't mind the Shield. I think it looks quite OK. I think it's definitely a good step compared to the Halo. That's my personal view, how it looks, so I don't mind that. I think the safety aspect is always important. It's always important to keep things improving, developing – safety always needs to be improved. So I wouldn't mind trying out the Shield, seeing how is the visibility and if there are any other issues with that. But I think in terms of safety it would be a good step compared to what we have now.

We have seen this year some difficulty to take the tyres to the temperature of the window and here's a circuit where you have very low tyre wear. Can it be an issue here? Can it be an advantage considering you fight with Ferrari which keeps more the tyres but has some difficulty to reach the temperature of the tyres?
I think this year we've struggled a bit more with higher temperatures. I think that's been a bit of a trend and something we've been working very hard on. I think we've also managed to find some things in testing in Bahrain. So yeah, I think we prefer these kind of conditions to very hot – but it's not something we are counting on. We need to keep working on everything. It will be interesting to see how we compare. My estimate is that, again, it is going to be very, very close with Ferrari. We're talking hundredths, maximum tenths. So, it's going to be interesting.

If you were given an instruction in this race to move over for Lewis, a) would you do that? And as well as that, if they sat you down more broadly over the next few weeks and said: “look, there's only one way we can get a driver to win this year and we've got to back Lewis to do it”, would you agree to do it? Would you say “I understand why I've been brought in and that's the job I've got to do. My wages arrive through the Mercedes management and I'll do their bidding.” Or would you say “no, I'm not there to do that, I won't yield an inch to Lewis.”
Your question is very hypothetical. There's a lot of ‘its' and I definitely haven't thought that far about things and I don't think that is going to happen. So, I prefer not to say much to that – but, y'know, example, if I have some issues in this race, for whatever reason, we are in different strategies or Lewis is stuck behind me, or something, if the team tells me to move over, I will, because we are doing this as a team and our target is to get maximum points for the team. And, of course, as a driver I'm going to do everything I can not to be in that position and have my own race. I like personal results as well but I've always been a team player, in the long term that is going to reward you, and the team – but in terms of what's going to happen in the future between me and Lewis and team orders and so on, y'know we are not planning anything like that. I'm sure we are going to be racing very hard together on track but, like I said before, this year the team needs to be more careful and maybe more clever in terms of how we collect every single point possible in the race. And that one, I completely understand. Nothing more to say.

Valtteri, if you're quicker than Lewis, would you expect him to move over for you?
Of course. If the team thinks there is a possibility to gain more points or, if we are in any way allowed to race freely, it's no different. We are being respected and handled the same way. It can all be vice versa in this race or the next one. Who knows?

You get a lot of this now you're at Mercedes – you seemed as though you've got on well with Lewis. How would you describe the nature of your relationship. Do you speak regularly? Do you see him at the racetrack, do you exchange many words? How does it work on a day-to-day basis?
So far it's been very good with Lewis, being his team-mate. I feel we have a good professional team-mate relationship – something I'm very much used to with Williams, with Felipe. We don't see outside the racetrack. Every now and then we might see each other at the factory – like last Tuesday – and obviously we see each other on the race weekends, sit in the same meetings, y'know, I don't know, it's a normal team-mate relationship for me. So far it's been good: we both respect each other, which is good, and we both can work well as a team. We're both really trying to help the team because every single thing this year is going to count if we want to win the title. So we are really giving everything we can to make us stronger. So far, very good.