Hamilton, Wolff, end Abu Dhabi controversy

Lewis Hamilton and Toto Wolff are looking to put the controversy of the Abu Dhabi finale firmly in the past.

After the 2016 finale, Mercedes boss Wolff was said to be considering disciplining the triple world champion for ignoring team orders and backing Nico Rosberg into rival cars.

But Wolff has now been quoted as admitting he in fact regrets how Mercedes handled the saga, saying the team should have let the drivers race "in the way they deemed to be appropriate".

Now, Hamilton has revealed on social media that he personally met with Wolff at the weekend, at his boss’s house.

"I just wanted to send on a message to let you know that we are going to be the strongest partnership next year," he said.

Marc Surer, a former driver turned German-language F1 pundit, thinks Wolff’s swift reconciliation with Hamilton has a pragmatic side to it, following Rosberg’s shock decision to quit.

"Perhaps the change has to do with the fact that Mercedes now has every reason to be kind to Lewis Hamilton, so he is not leaving too," he is quoted by Speed Week.

"After Nico retired, my second thought was that there would be no disciplinary action against Lewis Hamilton," Surer said.