Toto Wolff admits he has yet to decide how to handle situation with Lewis Hamilton.

Touring his team's major sponsors and Mercedes own facilities in a whirlwind cycle of celebration with his new world champion, Nico Rosberg, team boss Toto Wolff admits he has yet to decide how to deal with Lewis Hamilton's blatant ignoring of team orders on Sunday.

The Briton's actions, not for the first time, have polarised opinion in terms of race fans and the inhabitants of Planet Paddock, though most drivers tend to side with Hamilton.

Having previously accused Hamilton of "anarchy" in terms of his refusal to obey the orders of engineer Pete Bonnington and then technical chief Paddy Lowe, 48-hours later Wolff's mood appeared to have eased.

"I have not made up my mind," he said at a press conference when asked what sanction Hamilton might expect, if any.

"I can understand why he drove the way he drove, it was his instinct," the Austrian admitted.

"He needed to do it," he added. "Our system has made them win many races, but has also created that air of dominance, but again, let's discuss at a later stage."

Meanwhile in a further twist, Hamilton pulled out of today's tyre test at Abu Dhabi after just a couple of laps, a team spokesman claiming that the Briton was "unwell".

Hamilton previously felt "unwell" and was unable to take part in tyre testing at Barcelona just days after the Japanese Grand Prix, the event where he whipped up a media storm by playing on Snapchat during the Thursday press conference and subsequently refusing to talk to the media.

The FIA was swift to act, drafting the Briton in for the subsequent press conference in Austin to make amends.

And let's not forget that - oh so quickly denied - claim from Niki Lauda that Hamilton trashed a hospitality suite after crashing out of qualifying in Baku and having to start from the fifth row.

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READERS COMMENTS

1. Posted by karel, 02/12/2016 13:29

"@spindoctor. You're certainly right on that. But I remember a lot of failures in that period on Nico car. And probably Hamilton is faster, but his behaviour makes him for me ....a poor ...guy"

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2. Posted by Spindoctor, 01/12/2016 21:19

"@karel You are most certainly justified in calling Lewis's response to Nico's victory unsporting.
However, you can hardly claim that Lewis's previous success is solely down to having the faster car. It begs the question as to why Nico, in the same car, has failed to win the WDC in previous years. "

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3. Posted by Pavlo, 30/11/2016 13:20

"Stitch431: first of all, in Toto's shoes if I say I will not interfere, I will not interfere. And knowing in advance what the situation is, and understanding what and why Lewis will do, I would not give him the order he will break and then we all don't know what to do. I will quite opposite let him drive as he wishes and celebrate the victory for 2 drivers - what in the end anyway happened."

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4. Posted by Hobgoblin, 30/11/2016 12:12

"What was he supposed to do? Accept team orders to lose his only remaining shot at the title? Where is the Free-to-Race in that?

If he was pressuring Nico from behind and Nico buckled, then everyone would be singing his praises. He did what he could to pressure Nico from in-front (a lot more difficult) and gets moaned about. Hardly fair really.

And if he had acceded to team orders, and those team orders decided the WDC, then how satisfying would that be for anyone? At least this way both drivers can hold their respective heads up and say they did their best to win.

The real furore should be that Mercedes tried to impose team orders on the finale of the WDC."

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5. Posted by karel, 30/11/2016 11:35

"For me Lewis is an unsportive loser, able to win championships txs to Mercedes producing cars about 2 seconds faster then the rest of the field. He could have been great supporting his teammate in a for him lost championship. Mercedes can better loose this spoiled child"

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6. Posted by CL, 30/11/2016 11:17

"Oh dear, a racing driver is behaving like a human being and lots of people are getting their panties in a twist losing respect for him...I doubt very much any of them would care what we think. I hope he carries on doing his own thing and being true to himself."

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7. Posted by HKfans, 30/11/2016 9:10

"This fellow have lost all my respect for him and it's shame to the sport"

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8. Posted by Stitch431, 30/11/2016 8:48

"Well, Lewis may be a brilliant driver but his behaviour outside of the car was and is that of a spoiled child. If I put myself in Toto's, Niki's and Paddy's shoes, I don't know if I'd be willing to put up with that after yet another kick in the back and so many empty promises to better his behaviour. On the other hand, as a neutral spectator, at least it brought on a bit of a spectacle at an otherwise certainly dull race and lI can imagine Bernie licking his fingers his fingers at the sight of yet another dispute to unfold. No wonder the man is Lewis' biggest fan ;-)"

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9. Posted by -ape-, 30/11/2016 8:14

"LOL @testa rossa ... , Don't mention the war ......Manuel"

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10. Posted by testa rossa, 30/11/2016 8:07

"in Gross Deutsche Reich when the (Geschäfts ) Führer sagt Slow you must Slow down . BEFEHL ist BEFEHL.
So Lock him up or ...sho** this racer."

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Wolff: No decision on Hamilton

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