Valtteri Bottas admits the optics of Mercedes' ordering him to back off to avoid undercutting Lewis Hamilton during their pitstops in the Singapore Grand Prix were not ideal, but the Finn insists the call was necessary. Bottas swapped to the hard compound tyre a few laps earlier than Hamilton as Mercedes engaged in a pursuit of Ferrari. However, Hamilton's long first stint introduced the risk of the reigning world champion rejoining the race behind his teammate after his own pitstop was completed. Bottas was therefore instructed to slightly back off and also hold up Red Bull's Alex Albon in the process in order to avoid both cars jumping ahead of Hamilton after the Brit's tyre change....
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