Carlos Sainz says he would have done the same as Lewis Hamilton had he been in his position in Abu Dhabi, fighting for the world championship.
Hamilton has split opinion with his decision to intentionally drive slowly to back the pack up and force team-mate and championship rival Nico Rosberg – who would go on to eventually claim his maiden title – to defend from those behind.
Four-time champion Sebastian Vettel described Hamilton's tactics as "dirty", but Max Verstappen said he would have done exactly the same as the Mercedes driver.
Sainz said he too would have done the same as it's within the rules.
"I would do it," he is quoted as saying by Motorsport. "When you are a winner and you want to win a world title, you always have to try everything you can – always inside the rules, like he did.
"In the end he did nothing outside of the rules, so I support Lewis's decision/
He added: "To do [what he did] even more exaggerated could have been a bit too much, but I think he did exactly what he needed to do, also to put a bit of pressure on Nico and to see how he could handle it."
Red Bull team boss Christian Horner believes Mercedes were "naive" to even imagine Hamilton wouldn't employ some form of tactical driving to improve his title chances, amid speculation the German outfit could punish the 31-year-old.
"Congratulations go to Nico, but it was naive to think that there would be any different approach with what's at stake.
"He [Hamilton] played completely within the rules, winning the race wasn't going to be enough for him."
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