SOCHI, Russia -- Lewis Hamilton insists he remains firmly against the principle of team orders but says "special circumstances" can make them necessary, as with Mercedes' decision to move Valtteri Bottas over for him in Bahrain.
A late charge nearly saw Hamilton catch Sebastian Vettel under the lights in Sakhir as he slashed away at the gap on a new set of tyres. That charge had been made possible by teammate Bottas moving over to free Hamilton during the final stint as the Finn struggled with his tyres throughout the race.
Bottas later said he understood why Mercedes had let him past but, on arrival to the Sochi paddock ahead of the Russian Grand Prix, had to fend off questions about whether he fears being made No.2 to aid Hamilton's championship fight against Vettel.
In his own media session on Thursday, Hamilton was asked if he supported team orders and was unequivocal in his answer: "I do not, and never have.
"Team orders I think are always a very odd thing and a difficult thing to judge, and are something never to be liked. But it is in our rules and our approach is that the team need to win, so we do have to try and work as a team. But I think only in special circumstances.
"We definitely spoke about it collectively and also with the team. We're in a place with this team where we discuss everything. The plan is when you leave the race track you don't leave with any emotions hidden so that you don't come next time with any long-term feelings about it except for going and pushing harder to do a better job collectively. That's where we are. So we talked about it very openly and Valtteri was very gracious."
With Bottas struggling for pace throughout the race after starting from pole, Hamilton said it made little sense for him to stay behind the other Silver Arrows while Vettel pulled away in front.
"I think I would have reacted exactly the same way as him. He was struggling, he's even admitted he was struggling with his rear tyres. When I went past, I said to the team if I don't pull away I'll let him back past, but I did.
"I could see Sebastian pulling away and I said we had to pick up the pace just at the time Valtteri was struggling with the car balance. It makes no sense for us both to fall behind and let them pull away. In that scenario we worked as a team, and he while it was very tough for him, he was a great gentleman about it, and did the team proud."
Ferrari already leads both championships, meaning Mercedes is facing its first proper title battle since the introduction of the V6 turbos in 2014. Hamilton says working as a team is now more important than ever.
"In our notes and in our job description is to win for the team, not win for yourself. So while individually you want to win the race, if you can't win, it's not a case of wanting the other car to win, you want the team to win. You want the team to succeed. We want to finish, Mercedes, ahead of the Ferraris this year. To do that, we have to work as a team more than ever before."