Lewis Hamilton: Mercedes being 'extra warm' to Nico Rosberg

Hamilton claims Rosberg has not congratulated him on a third world title

Lewis Hamilton says Mercedes have "felt the need to be extra warm" to team-mate Nico Rosberg since the Briton won his third World Championship.

Hamilton secured the title in Austin on 25 October but Rosberg accused him of being "very aggressive" in that race.

Rosberg won in Mexico on Sunday with Hamilton a frustrated second after a dispute over team strategy.

Asked if the team had orchestrated the result, Hamilton said: "I never think those kind of things."

He added: "But I know the team has felt the need to be extra warm [to Rosberg]."

Pushed to elaborate, the 30-year-old said: "I do know what I mean but I'm not going to say what I mean. You should ask Toto Wolff [Mercedes team boss] and Niki Lauda [Mercedes non-executive chairman].

"You should put those questions to them about how they feel about it, and what they have to do behind the scenes to keep him happy."

Hamilton questioned a request to pit after Rosberg had stopped for a second time during Sunday's race at the Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez. Hamilton was reluctant to pit because staying out would have meant he retained the lead he inherited after Rosberg's stop.

Hamilton's race engineer, Peter Bonnington, insisted the stop was needed on safety grounds and the Briton eventually came in, albeit one lap later than planned.

The relationship between Hamilton and Rosberg - already cool - has become increasingly frosty in recent weeks with the German throwing a hat back at his team-mate post-race in Austin.

Hamilton has since claimed Rosberg has not congratulated him on winning his third world title, while there was a frosty handshake between the pair after Sunday's race in Mexico.

Even when discussing Rosberg's Mexico win Hamilton managed to get in a barbed reference to the German's mistake in Austin that cost him victory in that race, saying: "Nico drove well. No mistakes. No gust of wind."