"I had to try and help myself because no one was going to help me": When Lewis Hamilton doubled down on ignoring Mercedes team orders

Back in 2016, then-Mercedes driver Lewis Hamilton won the Abu Dhabi GP but lost out on the drivers' championship against teammate Nico Rosberg. Following this, in the post-race interviews, he took the time to shed light on why he ignored the team orders during the 55-lap Yas Marina Circuit race.

Lewis Hamilton started the Grand Prix from pole position with Nico Rosberg and Daniel Ricciardo (ret.) starting in P2 and P3. During the fiercely contested event, Hamilton wanted to back up the pack as per his strategy, but Mercedes told Hamilton that they would let him and Rosberg race for the victory.

While Hamilton was able to come away with the victory by using his strategy ahead of Nico Rosberg (P2) and third-placed Sebastian Vettel (ret.), following the end of the race, he was asked whether he was surprised by Mercedes' team orders, and in line with this, he added:

"I wasn't, no. Well, I mean, at the end of the day, we have to, we are out there to race, and the team have won a Constructors Championship, so, as long as I, you know, at that time we were racing, so it's down to a point I was, what I am supposed to do just sit there and let the dude come and win the championship? You know, I had to kind of try to help myself, because no one else was going to help me." 0:34 onwards. (Via: SeventySixBucks)

Despite winning the 2016 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, Lewis Hamilton missed out on the drivers' championship by an extremely small margin of five points against Nico Rosberg. During the campaign, Hamilton amassed 10 victories and 17 podiums in comparison to Rosberg's 9 triumphs and 16 podiums.

"Lewis Hamilton continued to back me up": Nico Rosberg's take on the Brit's Abu Dhabi GP antics

F1 Grand Prix of Abu Dhabi - Source: Getty

While Lewis Hamilton defended his actions in the 2016 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, following the end of the race, the drivers' championship winner, Nico Rosberg, also took the time to give his take on the 55-lap event. In line with this, the German touched upon Hamilton's antics and added:

"Lewis continued to back me up into everybody else. He did it really well because he was doing, I had no chance to pass him. I was trying, and no chance, because he was flat out in sector 1, so making sure that I was never in DRS, and then just slowing down in the rest."

"So the others came in again, and that was horrible, horrible, because I could see in my mirrors the place where the championship would be lost." (0:48 onwards).

Following the end of the 2016 Formula 1 season, Nico Rosberg retired as a world champion from the sport. Lewis Hamilton, on the other hand, is still going strong and is currently making his trade with the Maranello-based Ferrari F1 team.