Sir Jackie Stewart has accused Lewis Hamilton of being a "little ballerina" and called on Mercedes to hit him with an ultimatum of "do it our way or be excused" from the team.

Stewart, Britain's only other triple world champion, delivered his stinging verdict with Mercedes still deliberating as to what action they will take against Hamilton after he disobeyed orders in Abu Dhabi.

Mercedes were unhappy with Hamilton for backing team-mate Nico Rosberg into the clutches of the chasing pack in a ploy, which they believe, could have cost the team victory.

Hamilton returned to the scene of his championship defeat on Tuesday for a Pirelli tyre test, but he failed to complete the scheduled day in its entirety after withdrawing through illness.

"I think he (Hamilton) can be a little ballerina," Stewart told the Press Association. "Toto Wolff and Niki Lauda are not stupid people, and neither is the Mercedes chairman who often comes to grands prix.

"You cannot threaten a multi-national corporation of that size by one man who is just not doing it the right way.

"Give him the option of 'either do it our way or you have to be excused'."

Wolff, the Mercedes boss, suggested his team may take disciplinary action against Hamilton for ignoring two direct orders to speed up during Sunday's season finale.

Stewart, 77, who attended the Abu Dhabi race, added: "Lewis was refusing their instructions, and he was going against the management team.

F1 2016 driver ratings Show all 23 1 /23 F1 2016 driver ratings F1 2016 driver ratings Nico Rosberg – 9 out of 10 After losing two consecutive title battles to his Mercedes teammate, even Nico Rosberg appeared to doubt Nico Rosberg last February. The fact he bounced back to triumph is great testament to his character and determination. Standout drives in Azerbaijan, Italy, Singapore and Japan were reinforced by his tremendous recovery to third in Malaysia. The only negative is he still hasn’t convinced anyone that he’s more talented than Hamilton. Getty F1 2016 driver ratings Lewis Hamilton – 8 out of 10 Reliability issues and grid penalties. The story of 2016 for Lewis Hamilton, but he‘s guilty of taking his eye off the ball too. Rosberg had no right to get back into the title fight after the summer break, but Hamilton was no longer the mighty force we’ve come to expect and allowed off-the-track distractions to impact his cause. Malaysia’s engine blow-up was pivotal in the title battle and ended up with him accusing his own team of sabotage, but the dropped points in Bahrain, Azerbaijan and Singapore also cost him dearly. Getty F1 2016 driver ratings Daniel Ricciardo – 9 out of 10 After a baron 2015, it was a delight to see the Ricciardo smile back on the top step of the podium in Malaysia – and introducing the ‘shooey’ to boot. He cruelly had victory snatched away from him by his team twice in Spain and Monaco. Faced a fresh challenge when Verstappen stepped up, but more often than not kept him at bay. Getty F1 2016 driver ratings Max Verstappen – 9 out of 10 Lit up the season with his breath-taking drives through the field. Stunned the world when he won in his very first drive for Red Bull in Spain, but it will be his drive from 16th to third in the atrocious conditions in Brazil that will go down in history. Clashed with Vettel and Raikkonen and his defensive driving has been under scrutiny. But he has the talent to win multiple world championships, now he just needs the car. Red Bull may just deliver that in 2017. Getty F1 2016 driver ratings Sebastian Vettel – 7 out of 10 Seven podium finishes fell like short change from a Ferrari that was tipped to challenge Mercedes in pre-season, but the fact is that Vettel has been ringing a lot out of what has proven a really poor car. Consistently out-drove Raikkonen, and will hope to get back on top of the rostrum in 2017. Getty F1 2016 driver ratings Kimi Raikkonen – 6 out of 10 Showed signs of the old Kimi in the first half of the season with plenty of smart strategies that brought him into podium contention. Tailed off as the season wore on though, and looked to be somewhat affected by his battle with Verstappen. Getty F1 2016 driver ratings Sergio Perez – 7 out of 10 His two impressive third-place finishes came in Monaco and Azerbaijan, but it was his consistency over the second half of the season that really stood out and secured him seventh in the standings. Reeled off 10 straight top 10 finishes to consolidate his position as Force India’s No 1. Getty F1 2016 driver ratings Nico Hulkenberg – 6 out of 10 You do wonder if he will ever reach his true potential. Linked with a move to replace Raikkonen at one point, he will now start 2017 at Renault. They may be a manufacturer, but are they where the German should be at the peak of his career? Getty F1 2016 driver ratings Valterri Bottas – 6 out of 10 Kept his head as chaos unfolded around him to take an impressive podium finish in Canada, but his performances tailed off as the season wore on and he ended 2016 with a whimper, struggling to 11th in Brazil before retiring after a handful of laps in Abu Dhabi. Getty F1 2016 driver ratings Felipe Massa – 5 out of 10 Perhaps he took his eye off the ball after announcing his retirement at the end of the season, but his performances through the latter stages tended to result in either retirement or a mid-field finish. Highlight performances in Melbourne and Sochi hinted to a better farewell, though he deserved every second of his emotional send-off in Brazil. Getty F1 2016 driver ratings Fernando Alonso – 7 out of 10 The Spaniard showed his class on a number of occasions in a McLaren that is still not up to scratch. Saw off Jenson Button in the battle of the veteran world champions, and after starting his season upside-down in Melbourne in a frightening accident, he recorded two fifth-place finishes and nine points-scoring results to stand out from the rest. Getty F1 2016 driver ratings Jenson Button – 5 out of 10 A sixth place in Austria is as good as it got, but some may argue it was one year too many for JB, and they might be right. With Alonso scoring more than double the points Button managed and Stoffel Vandoorne waiting in the wings, he disappointed this season though that wasn’t through a lack of trying. Still one of the most popular figures in the paddock, he’ll be missed. Getty F1 2016 driver ratings Carlos Sainz – 7 out of 10 Enjoyed a tremendous start to the season with regular points-scoring finishes, and showed his undoubted talent with three sixth-place finishes. Sainz also demonstrated a good understanding of the Pirelli tyres as he excelled on long runs, and a place in the senior Red Bull team may not be as far off as it looks. Getty F1 2016 driver ratings Daniil Kvyat – 3 out of 10 What started at Red Bull ended with Kvyat riding a bicycle back to the paddock in Abu Dhabi. It may seem like a distant memory but Kvyat actually finished on the podium back in China in his penultimate Red Bull outing, though once he was ousted by Verstappen he managed to take just four more points throughout the season. Lucky to keep his place at Toro Rosso. Getty F1 2016 driver ratings Romain Grosjean – 6 out of 10 Looked like he could be one of the surprises of the season with the newly-formed Hass F1 team, as the American outfit scored points in their very first F1 race. The season started to become a struggle as it wore on though as the Frenchman’s car suffered repeatedly from brake issues, but he still demonstrated that he had raw pace when everything clicked. Getty F1 2016 driver ratings Esteban Gutierrez – 2 out of 10 While Grosjean impressed with 29 points, Gutierrez was nothing short of terrible this season and managed to finish the year as one of only two full-time drivers without a point. He also faced the fury of the front-runners who were less than impressed with his reactions to blue flags, and his angry reaction to being dropped by Haas was a rather damning indication of his character. Doesn’t deserve a 2017 seat at Manor. Getty F1 2016 driver ratings Kevin Magnussen – 4 out of 10 Billed as the unbeatable teammate at Renault, the Dane is leaving after just one year. Outscored Jolyon Palmer with an assured drive in Russia and also used the Renault’s strong technical aspects to score points in Singapore. Off to Haas next year, which may be a wise move for him. Getty F1 2016 driver ratings Jolyon Palmer – 4 out of 10 Turned around a difficult year to record a string of impressive drives in the second half of the season to out-perform Magnussen. History shows he gets better the longer he spends in a certain formula, but he’ll have his work cut out next year when Hulkenberg comes to town. Getty F1 2016 driver ratings Felipe Nasr – 4 out of 10 He struggled this season, but delivered the goods when it mattered most to score two crucial points for Sauber that lifted them above Manor in the Constructors’ Championship. Deserves another shot, and while his projected deal with Sauber has been held up, it should get over the line before 2017. Getty F1 2016 driver ratings Marcus Ericsson – 3 out of 10 A dismal run through the middle of the season saw Nasr fight back in their head-to-head battle, and it was his fault when the pair collided at Monaco in a moment to forget. The only other driver not to score despite competing in every grand prix. Getty F1 2016 driver ratings Pascal Wehrlein – 4 out of 10 It’s almost F1 law that the Manor should be at the back of the field, so it was a delight to see Wehrlein take tenth and claim a point in Austria. He showed signs of why Mercedes rate him so highly with a second standout performance in Bahrain. Getty F1 2016 driver ratings Esteban Ocon – 5 out of 10 Came in for the Belgium Grand Prix and instantly provided more competition for Wehrlein, and if you count their retirements, he won the inter-team battle 7-2. Has secured himself a role at Force India next year, which isn’t too shabby at all. Getty F1 2016 driver ratings Rio Haryanto – 1 out of 10 Remember him? His F1 spell lasted all of 12 races where he secured a best finish of 15th. Don’t expect him back any time soon. Getty

"Now, I am sorry, but when you are paid between 20 and 30 million pounds a year and you are told to do something you have got to do it. I don't care who you are."

Wolff appeared alongside new world champion Rosberg at a news conference in Kuala Lumpur on Tuesday, and confirmed that he is yet to decide whether to punish Hamilton.

Mercedes strengthened their so-called 'Rules of Engagement' earlier this season after Hamilton and Rosberg crashed in Spain and then Austria.

They were both warned that they would be fined, or even banned, if they broke the strict terms which had been agreed.

"It is not the first time he has gone against instructions, and if he is going to continue to do that they have the choice of dropping him," Stewart added.

Lewis Hamilton may face disciplinary action for slowing down Nico Rosberg (Getty)

"He only does 21 races a year. It is no big deal. We worked our a*** off to make decent money, and they don't even do much testing now.

"Mercedes may just give him another heavy warning, but if they do that they would then have to say 'this is what is going to happen the next time you disobey orders'. Another way would be to penalise him financially."