Bottas "will act differently now" if Russian GP situation re-occurs

Not only has Valtteri Bottas physically changed with his new beard, the Finn also claims to have changed his way of driving in 2019, as the 29-year-old will be playing less of a wingman-role this season.

The Russian Grand Prix in 2018 was a prime example of how the roles were divided in the Mercedes garage. Bottas, who had put his W09 on pole position and who had driven in first place all race, was ordered to stand down by his team to let Lewis Hamilton pass, so the Brit could win the race for the Silver Arrows. Bottas was visibly shaken by this, and he says now this won't repeat itself anymore.

"I've always been a team player, but I've also found out there are limits to that," the three-time Grand Prix winner told Auto Bild.

"Sometimes you have to think about yourself. If I always support others and never think about my own results, I'll never reach the goals I have.

"It's possible to be a team player but also think about yourself and that's what I want to show this season," Bottas continued.

This means he won't act in the same way if another team order like in Russia presents itself, so he says.

"If that situation arises again, I'll handle it differently then I did then." 

Whether that means he'll ignore team orders or not isn't clear, but if he does, that could get him into a lot of trouble. Esteban Ocon might be on the sidelines now, but defiance from Bottas to Mercedes like that could cause Toto Wolff and crew to relegate Bottas.