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After the drama of the race, Hamilton congratulated Rosberg on his world championship victory and the two men hugged and shook hands on the podium. Nico's father, Keke won the world title in 1982, making the Rosbergs only the second family in history where father and son have won the F1 world title, after Graham and Damon Hill.
"It's a childhood dream come true," Rosberg (31) said over the radio. "Thank you for everything."
Rosberg started his final race only 12 points ahead of Hamilton, knowing a podium finish would secure him the championship regardless of Lewis' actions - however, tension soon mounted. Hamilton and Rosberg both made strong starts completing a one-two from the beginning. But the difficulties began for Rosberg when he came out of his first pit stop behind Red Bull's Verstappen.
After a spin on the race's first corner, the Red Bull driver recovered quickly and ended up in second place behind Hamilton after the first round of pit stops from the Mercedes AMG Petronas team. Rosberg came out behind Verstappen, and was also under pressure from Raikkonen for Ferrari, Red Bull's Daniel Ricciardo and Vettel.
After much drama, Rosberg was told on lap 19 that passing the Red Bull was 'critical' - and he responded by passing Verstappen on the next lap to take the second position he would hold until the end. Despite a nimble last minute attack from Vettel, the first and second positions remained - with Hamilton in first and Rosberg in a well-earned second - making 12 F1 world drivers' titles now held by Germans.
A huge congratulations to Nico Rosberg on his championship title win for 2016, and to the Mercedes AMG Petronas team on their repeat Constructors Championhip win this year.
For the full range of Mercedes AMG Petronas merchandise contact your nearest Lancaster dealership or check out the range here.