Formula 1

Lewis Hamilton congratulates Nico Rosberg on winning F1 championship

Published Dec. 9, 2016 1:27 p.m. ET

Samuel Reiman

The battle on track may have been fierce between Mercedes F1 teammates Nico Rosberg and Lewis Hamilton during the 2016 season, with both of them coming together on two occasions, but on the Abu Dhabi podium they both congratulated each other and shook hands after a hard-fought season.

Rosberg ended up winning the championship after finishing second in the season finale at Abu Dhabi, while Hamilton - entering the race with a 12-point deficit - could not close the points gap, even though he won the race.

For Hamilton, it was the 53rd win of his career and 10th of the season. No other driver has ever won 10 races in a season and not gone on to win the title, although the 2016 World Championship was a record 21 races long.

“I did everything I could these last four races,” said Hamilton on the podium, who has won from pole in the last four rounds. “That’s all I can really ask of myself, so I’ll leave here and have fun tonight celebrating with the team and everyone.

“You can’t win them all. Obviously we’ve had a lot of problems this year, so that’s essentially why we’re in this position, but I’m still grateful for all the success and all the ups and downs we’ve had as a team.”

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