He is now only the fourth Briton in history to win two world titles and the
first since Sir Jackie Stewart won his second title in 1971.
His girlfriend Nicole Scherzinger, 36, was waiting for Hamilton as he climbed
out of his Mercedes and as they embraced, she awkwardly kissed him on the
helmet.
He then hugged his overjoyed father Anthony, who took him karting every
weekend when he was a youngster.
Hamilton later broke down in tears on the podium as the British national
anthem played out, before spraying Champagne over his girlfriend and family.
He said: “I’m lost for words. I want to say a big, huge thank you for all the
fans coming out all this way, it made all the difference this weekend, and
to my family and my mum back home, and to my team.
“I can’t explain how much this means. It means more than the first one, it
feels like the first time, I’m blessed.
Sir Jackie Stewart: Hamilton’s win ‘great victory for Britain’
“This is the greatest day of my life. 2008 was a special time, but the feeling
I have now is way past that, above and beyond.”
Talking about the race, Hamilton added: “I was like a rocket at the start,
it’s probably the best start I’ve ever had.
“I had options on how to approach the race, but the car was
fantastic.Qualifying was not perfect, but we got it spot on for the race.
Nico [Rosberg] put up an incredible fight throughout the year, incredible.
“I’m very sad his car was not quick enough to fight in this race, but he was
graceful to come up to me afterwards, very professional, and he said “Fantastic,
you drove very well”.
Prime Minister David Cameron was one of the first people to congratulate
Hamilton on Twitter.
He said: “Congratulations to @LewisHamilton on winning the #AbuDhabiGP and his
second #F1 world title. A great day for British motorsport.”
Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg also tweeted his congratulations, saying:
“You’ve made Britain very proud.”
The Formula One star will now be among the favourites to be crowned BBC Sports
Personality of the Year next month.
When he won his first title in 2008 he was beaten to the coveted trophy by
cyclist Chris Hoy.