Fuel Priming...or not.

I know there are some posts about this but I am still a little confused. So here goes.

I have a mk1 1.8. It ALWAYS starts after a few chugs but I am sure that the fuel pump is supposed to run for a second or two when the ignition is first turned. It does on a mk2 and I am sure I can remember it doing it on another mk1 gti I had 10 years ago. Once started, the fuel pump can be heard whiring away and the car alsways runs fine. I removed the fuel pump relay (relay 17 i think?) and the car still started and ran as normal. This seemed strange too, is the relay just for priming or for the pump to run constantly? Can anyone please confirm for me whether or not the pump is supposed to prime when the ignition is on? If so, I think I will try replacing the relay.

Cheers