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I was initially upset that Bottas had to move over for Hamilton. I am not a fan of team orders. But... I think Hamilton was faster at that point in the race as Bottas was having issues (self inflicted, car issues, setup issues, strategy issues, maybe some combo of the above). So Mercedes felt that Hamilton might have been able to run down Vettel and score more points for the team. So they allowed him to move ahead. I don't think it was to just allow Lewis to trade positions to score more points than Bottas.
I will say, it was likely a much easier decision (and thing to do) for them to ask Bottas to give up the position than it would have been if they had been asking Hamilton to give up the position. There is clearly an implied pecking order within the team. I fully expect Hamilton will complain more than Bottas might if/when asked to move aside. But as long as Bottas gets an equal opportunity to shine (same development parts, etc.) I think that is fair enough. I am not particularly a Mercedes fan, but they do seem to try to do the right thing when it comes to their drivers. But it can be difficult for them to do so when under pressure/stress so it can be awkward at times (i.e. last year when asking Hamilton to speed up or whatever it was they did).
I don't see team orders happening unless we see something like in Bahrain (one driver faster than the other and allowing the pass can increase points for the "team") or later in the season in which one of the two pulls ahead in the points and they start to back that driver over the other. If Hamilton has a bad season (reliability, whatever) and Bottas does well, I can see them backing Bottas even if that means Lewis may be asked to allow a pass to happen.
Richard
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