Lewis Hamilton has praised his Mercedes teammate Nico Rosberg for holding back behind him at the Malaysian Grand Prix, allowing him to take third place.

Sebastian Vettel controversially claimed the win ahead of his Red Bull teammate Mark Webber, but Hamilton has admitted that Rosberg deserved better.

Rosberg requested to be allowed through into third as he trailed closely behind Hamilton, but was denied by his team. After the race, Hamilton said that Rosberg should have been on the podium instead of him as he drove a "more controlled race".

"If I'm honest I feel Nico should be standing here, he had better pace through the race," Hamilton told reporters while on the podium.

"He is a great teammate, I will speak to the team, or apologise. I said to him he did a fantastic job. Nico deserved to be where I am.

"With the position in the championship the team thought it was logical to stay in position, but Nico drove a smarter and more controlled race than me today. Would I let him past in the future? I probably would."

The Malaysian Grand Prix was Hamilton's first podium finish since joining Mercedes.