Daniel Ricciardo's bosses at Red Bull have ruled out releasing the Australian driver to join Mercedes as Nico Rosberg's replacement.

Shane van Gisbergen had already secured the Supercars championship, but that didn't stop him finishing with a flourish in Sunday's deciding race of the last Sydney 500.

Farirfax Media's Mark Fogarty was named as Best News Reporter for breaking some of the biggest Supercars stories of the past year.

A stunning come-from-behind drive in Sydney has delivered Shane van Gisbergen his first Supercars championship, denying Jamie Whincup a record seventh title.

For the Red Army that has followed the Holden Racing Team for a quarter of a century, they are torn between the demise of what was for so long the lead Lion racing team and the promise of its new iteration from next year.

The final layout of the scenic course using public waterfront roads at the eastern end of NSW's second largest city will be unveiled later this week.

There is an argument that Nico Rosberg's extraordinary retirement represents a more significant achievement than the fact he won the world title.

Sir Jackie Stewart has described Nico Rosberg's decision to retire at the age of 31 as "courageous and wise", noting that the German did not lose "a drop of blood" and -retired on his own terms.

Mark Fogarty

Nico Rosberg stunned Formula One on Friday with the shock announcement that he was retiring only days after winning his first world championship with Mercedes.

Until this year, Supercars' newest superstar Shane van Gisbergen was best described as a mercurial talent.

Supercars' grand experiment to establish a showcase event in Sydney ends this weekend with a mixture of frustration and excitement.

They aren't feuding teammates like Mercedes Formula 1 enemies Nico Rosberg and Lewis Hamilton, but the Supercars rivalry between Triple Eight Holden's dominant duo Shane van Gisbergen and Jamie Whincup is intense.

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.

Nico Rosberg, Formula One's newly-crowned champion, deserved a trouble-free year after watching rival Lewis Hamilton enjoy two "lucky" title-winning campaigns, his father Keke has claimed.

• ANALYSIS

Formula One packs up and moves on with a speed and scale unrivalled by any other sport. So is it any wonder that with champagne still soaking Nico Rosberg's side of the Mercedes garage at Abu Dhabi, attention has already turned to what comes next?

Mercedes driver Nico Rosberg has won his first Formula One world championship after finishing second at the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix.

Lewis Hamilton took pole position for the title-deciding Abu Dhabi Formula One Grand Prix on Saturday with Mercedes teammate and championship favourite Nico Rosberg second.

Hamilton and Rosberg's title duel will climax tomorrow, but they have not always been enemies.