Lewis Hamilton chalked up his tenth win of the season after a thrilling finale but was powerless to prevent team mate Nico Rosberg from clinching his first world crown.
Hamilton attempted to push Rosberg into the clutches of those behind him by deliberately running at a slow pace in the closing stages of the race.
While the tactic succeeded in producing a nail-biting finish, it fell short of putting his team mate's title bid into jeopardy.
"I did everything I could, fighting to the end for the fans and for all the people that turned up to support me this weekend," were Hamilton's first words.
Hamilton was urged twice by the Mercedes pit wall to pick up the pace in the latter part of a race as a fast moving Sebastian Vettel bridging the gap at a furious pace. But the defending world champion ultimately ignored his team's instructions.
"I don't know why they didn't let us just race. There was never a moment where I felt I was going to lose the race. But their thought process was quite clear.
"I don't think I did anything dangerous, I don't think I did anything unfair. We were fighting for the championship, I was in the lead so I control the pace. That is the rules."
In the end, Hamilton did however praise Rosberg for his success and the consistent job the German had done all season long.
"Nico had a very clean year without any real issues. He did a fantastic job, so congratulations to him. I know it's a great feeling to win the world championship, and I look forward to fighting with him next year."
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