Lewis Hamilton hails 'champion' Nico Rosberg's 'well-deserved' title

Paris: Lewis Hamilton offered an olive branch to teammate Nico Rosberg on Wednesday, telling the German that his maiden Formula One world title was "well deserved".

Rosberg wrapped up the 2016 championship last weekend when he finished second behind fellow Mercedes driver Hamilton at the season-ending Abu Dhabi Grand Prix.

Hamilton, however, was widely-criticised for his attempts to `back-up` Rosberg into the clutches of the chasing pack as he tried to engineer his own last-gasp title lifeline.

But the three-time world champion Briton took to Twitter on Wednesday to ease any lingering tension between the two men.

"We said we`d be champions back then, now we both are! Congratulations Nico, you did everything a champion needed to do. Well deserved," tweeted Hamilton beside a photo of the pair in their junior racing days.