Nico Rosberg clinches maiden F1 title as Lewis Hamilton fumes

Hamilton defied repeated requests from the pit wall to speed up as Ferrari’s Sebastian Vettel and Red Bull’s Max Verstappen closed on the Mercedes duo.

Rosberg managed the situation supremely as his team reminded him that third was still enough for the title.

However, the German survived a late onslaught from Vettel to take second behind the Brit, who fumed at his team on the radio about their orders.

Jenson Button’s final Grand Prix ended in disappointment as a technical failure saw him retire on lap 15.

Rosberg, son of 1982 world champion Keke, celebrated his triumph with doughnuts on the pit straight, with Mercedes’ celebrations tainted by the latest – and probably most damaging – incident between their two drivers.

"That was not the most enjoyable race I've had," Rosberg said. "I'm glad it's over and am absolutely ecstatic."

Vettel, Verstappen, Daniel Ricciardo and Kimi Raikkonen completed the top six.

Force India's Hulkenberg and Sergio Perez were seventh and eight respectively, securing fourth place in the constructors' championship for the outfit for the first time.

Felipe Massa finished the final race of his F1 career in ninth, with Fernando Alonso completing the top 10.

Lewis Hamilton admitted afterwards he did not know why Mercedes tried to interfere in his battle with Rosberg.

"I don't know why they didn't just let us race," said Hamilton. "There was never a moment where I felt I would lose the race.

"It's a shame, but it's quite clear their thought process. I don't really have much to say."

What else could he do?

The Mercedes post-mortem will reveal grave findings, but did they really expect Hamilton to concede the title? Mercedes had already intimated they would let their drivers scrap, so a mid-race opinion shift was hardly going to be popular – especially given the constructors’ title was wrapped up long ago.

Hamilton is paid to race for the team, and follow their orders, but contract obligations are unlikely to be flowing through the mind at 200mph. F1 is struggling to appeal to the masses and, rightly or wrongly, Hamilton’s antics added much-needed spice to the finale.

However, it’s surely now impossible for the Hamilton-Rosberg partnership to go beyond 2017.

1. Nico Rosberg (Germany) Mercedes - 385 points

2. Lewis Hamilton (Britain) Mercedes - 380

3. Daniel Ricciardo (Australia) Red Bull - 256

4. Sebastian Vettel (Germany) Ferrari - 212

5. Max Verstappen (Netherlands) Red Bull - 204

6. Kimi Raikkonen (Finland) Ferrari - 186

7. Sergio Perez (Mexico) Force India - 101

8. Valtteri Bottas (Finland) Williams - 85

9. Nico Huelkenberg (Germany) Force India - 72

10. Fernando Alonso (Spain) McLaren - 54

1. Lewis Hamilton (Britain) Mercedes 1:38:04.013

2. Nico Rosberg (Germany) Mercedes +00:00.439

3. Sebastian Vettel (Germany) Ferrari 00:00.843

4. Max Verstappen (Netherlands) Red Bull - TAG Heuer 00:01.685

5. Daniel Ricciardo (Australia) Red Bull - TAG Heuer 00:05.315

6. Kimi Raikkonen (Finland) Ferrari 00:18.816

7. Nico Huelkenberg (Germany) Force India - Mercedes 00:50.114

8. Sergio Perez (Mexico) Force India - Mercedes 00:58.776

9. Felipe Massa (Brazil) Williams-Mercedes 00:59.436

10. Fernando Alonso (Spain) McLaren 00:59.896

11. Romain Grosjean (France) Haas - Ferrari 01:16.777

12. Esteban Gutierrez (Mexico) Haas - Ferrari 01:35.113

13. Esteban Ocon (France) Manor - Mercedes 1 lap

14. Pascal Wehrlein (Germany) Manor - Mercedes 1 lap

15. Marcus Ericsson (Sweden) Sauber - Ferrari 1 lap

16. Felipe Nasr (Brazil) Sauber - Ferrari 1 lap

17. Jolyon Palmer (Britain) Renault 1 lap

r. Carlos Sainz Jr (Spain) Toro Rosso - Ferrari

r. Daniil Kvyat (Russia) Toro Rosso - Ferrari

r. Jenson Button (Britain) McLaren

r. Valtteri Bottas (Finland) Williams-Mercedes

r. Kevin Magnussen (Denmark) Renault