Mercedes boss Toto Wolff has denied that he influenced the outcome of Sunday’s Baku Grand Prix, insisting that the race played out naturally.

Bottas won his second race of the season in Azerbaijan, finishing ahead of teammate Hamilton to complete Mercedes’ fourth consecutive one-two.

The Finn now leads the driver’s standings with 87 points, one ahead of Hamilton and 35 ahead of Sebastian Vettel in third.

The early stages of the season can best be described as a two-horse race between the Mercedes pair and Wolff has insisted that he is staying out of their rivalry as much as he can, despite appearing to almost press the buttons for a direct line to the drivers from the pit wall on a couple of occasions.

When asked by RaceFans.net whether he had communicated with either driver, Wolff said: “No, [we] let them race.

“I think we did, they are experienced, they know that racing must be clean, we see lap one was very clean. And this is a track where we mustn’t take crazy risks because you could lose both of the cars.”

Racing can often be filled with emotion, which is the main reason Wolff refuses to use the internal line during a race.

“When we talk to the drivers it’s open, everybody can hear them. But then obviously you have intercom which is only an internal line. But I was not talking to the drivers.

“If I push the driver button, I know it myself, so I am not giving myself permission to talk to the drivers because I get emotional and then sometimes I regret what I say.

“So I never talk to the drivers directly during the race.”

Hamilton pushed Bottas hard in the last few laps, something which Wolff said was expected by the team but their priorities lay elsewhere.

“It was more a discussion with a group of strategists on the pit wall. It was a discussion whether Vettel would actually come close, whether we would save the engine, it was about whether Leclerc or Verstappen would go for fastest lap, it was more an overall discussion.

“We acknowledged that it could get a little bit racy at the end, but we didn’t talk to them.”

Mercedes will now be looking ahead to the Spanish Grand Prix on May 12, where they will be in search of a fifth consecutive one-two to extend their lead over the rest of the field.