Retaining the crown sees the Mercedes driver equal Jackie Stewart's British record of three world championship titles.

Until now, despite a Briton winning the drivers' championship on 15 occasions, a British driver had not won titles on consecutive years.

The win moves Hamilton joint fifth on the all-time championship list alongside revered names of the sport such as Ayrton Senna and Nelson Piquet.

However, he still has a long way to go to catch F1's most successful driver, Michael Schumacher who won seven world championships during his record-breaking career.