But was Lewis Hamilton right to slow down enough to “back” Rosberg into the approaching Max Verstappen and Sebastien Vettel? Mercedes had won the manufacturer’s championship: Under other circumstances the team might have been concerned about the constructor’s title. And let it be noted, that there were no team orders preventing Rosberg from attempting to pass Hamilton. The bottom line is that Hamilton’s responsibility is to try to ensure the win (see #5 below) and try to win the driver’s championship. Hamilton lapped slowly, but the Mercedes drivers never got within about three-quarters of a second of each other.

Source: Forbes November 27, 2016 17:05 UTC