Hamilton facing sack after ignoring team orders twice

Hamilton’s spent the final stint of the evening race driving well below full capacity in an attempt to push teammate and title rival Rosberg into the clutches of Sebastian Vettel and Max Verstappen, which ultimately failed.

Rosberg described being told to pass Verstappen as “not a nice thing to hear”, adding to the stress of the title fight with Lewis Hamilton, who tried to back him into the chasing pack.

Rosberg did so, finishing second, but Mercedes are now weighing up a potential punishment for Hamilton after ignoring team orders to increase the pace.

The 31-year-old Rosberg finally emulated his father Keke Rosberg, who won the F1 title in 1982. Graham Hill, the two-time champion, had been killed in a plane crash before Damon Hill won his title in 1996. Rosberg’s championship has been delivered on.

Rosberg, who needed to finish no lower than third to take the crown, held on, but said it was hard to concentrate with Sebastien Vettel close on his tail in third.

Rosberg, who had gifted Hamilton victory with a late error, petulantly flung it back.

I don’t know why they didn’t just let us race.

“I’m very proud to have done the same feat as my Dad achieved”. “Good job, man”, Hamilton said on the podium before they shook hands.

Abu Dhabi: The battle had been on between him and Lewis Hamilton since their teenage days. “But we had already won the constructors’ championship so today it was down to me and Nico, and the team still felt they needed to interfere”. “That is the rules”.

He won on the last day of the season in 2008, beating Brazilian Felipe Massa by one point in a dramatic final race.

Rosberg ended the season with nine wins to Hamilton’s 10, and with the Briton also ahead on pole positions, but it is the points that matter.

In a frantic opening lap, Verstappen spun after touching the Force India vehicle of German Nico Hulkenberg, dropping him to 17th as he rejoined and advanced through the pack.

Hamilton was directed by his team on a number of occasions during the race to pick up the pace. For the defending champion, it was the news he wanted to hear, even if for Mercedes it presented a dilemma. “We will discuss it afterwards as we all do”. After the race, Ferrari’s Vettel described Hamilton’s tactics as “dirty tricks” and Mercedes boss Toto Wolff warned Hamilton of possible repercussions.

Hamilton disregarded those orders in Abu Dhabi, one of which came directly from team technical boss Paddy Lowe. Red Bull Racing was the only other team to win a grand prix in 2016, with one win apiece for Ricciardo and Verstappen.

Clarifying his stand, Hamilton said “For me I’m in the position where I’ve had a lot of points lost during the season so I’m out there fighting, and I generally never try to do anything to harm the team”.