Nico Rosberg is new Formula 1 champion!

Nico Rosberg has beaten his teammate, Lewis Hamilton to this year's Formula 1 title following the season's final race in the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix.

The German only needed to finish third to clinch the title after building up a 12 point lead going into this race.  He went one better and finished second behind his Mercedes teammate Hamilton whose first place win counted for nothing.

It is Rosberg's first Formula 1 win and in doing so, he follows in the footsteps of his father, Keke who ruled the racing world in 1982.

Wine flowed freely as the German was joined in his celebrations by his father, mother, Sina and wife, Vivian Sibold. Speaking on the podium after his win he said:

 ‘It feels like I have been racing Lewis for ever and he has always managed to just edge me out, even when we were small in go-karts,’ ‘He is an amazing driver and one of the best in history, so it is just unbelievably special to beat him. That makes this so much more satisfying because he set the benchmark and I took the world championship from him.’

When Hamilton whined about the technical faults that hampered his title chances, he was rebuked by Red Bull's Sebastian Vettel who told him that it was a ‘sign of respect and greatness to say he is a deserving champion’. He also pointed out that at different times over the years bad luck has visited them all.

 More photos below...