27/11/2016
NEWS STORY
While Mercedes is unwilling to wash its dirty laundry in public, especially at a time it is celebrating a German world champion, it would appear that Lewis Hamilton's tactics in today's race have tested his relationship with the team.
At times lapping 9s slower than his pole-wining lap, Hamilton drove a deliberately slow race in an effort to force teammate, and title rival, Nico Rosberg, into the clutches of his rivals.
Despite the increasingly serious calls from his engineer Pete Bonnington to up his pace, the Briton carried on cruising, and when Paddy Lowe came on the radio instructing the Briton to speed up, still the world champion refused, even though the team feared his own position was at risk from Sebastian Vettel.
Speaking after the race, team boss Toto Wolff made it clear he was not happy.
"Undermining a structure in public means you are putting yourself before the team," he said. "It is very simple, anarchy does not work in any team and in any company.
"The other half of me, as a driver, says it was his only chance of winning the championship," he admitted, "and maybe you cannot demand of a racing driver that is one of the best, if not the best, to comply in a situation where his instincts cannot make him.
"It is about finding a solution as to how to solve that in the future," he continued, "because a precedent has been set. Let me sleep overnight and come up with a solution."
Asked if the Briton might face some sort of punishment, he admitted: "Everything is possible. Maybe we want to give them more freedom. Or take the more harsh side that we feel the values were not respected. I am not sure yet where my finger is going to point or the needle is going to go.
"You need to win and to lose with dignity," he concluded.
Check out our Sunday gallery from Abu Dhabi, here.