ABU DHABI, United Arab Emirates (AP) German driver Nico Rosberg held his nerve to win the Formula One championship for the first time after finishing second at the season-ending Abu Dhabi Grand Prix on Sunday.
Defending champion Lewis Hamilton won the race from pole position for his 53rd GP win.
Rosberg was 12 points ahead of his teammate coming into the title showdown and only needed to finish third, even if Hamilton won.
Hamilton blatantly disobeyed team orders to speed up near the end, thus backing Rosberg toward Sebastian Vettel and Max Verstappen in third and fourth places, respectively.
Vettel could not quite pass Rosberg and he finished third ahead of Verstappen.
Having finished runner-up for the past two seasons, Rosberg finally emulates his father Keke Rosberg, who won the F1 title in 1982.
