I've said it before and I'll say it again because the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix proved it: the Mercedes team management doesn't really manage. The reaction to Lewis Hamilton's tactics in the race made little sense.
You can't fault what the team has achieved over the past three years, but from a management perspective it's fortunate the car has been so fast. If there was another squad properly biting at Mercedes' heels it could really expose this weakness, and the team management would have to change the way it goes about things.
There was never any chance that Hamilton would not win the race. He was very much circulating with the cruise control on to try to give Nico Rosberg something to think about. To win the championship, Hamilton needed Rosberg to make a mistake, get involved with a Ferrari or a Red Bull or hit reliability problems, so he played the hand he had exactly as he should have done.