Burnout car for sale as Hamilton puts Melbourne behind him

Despite Lewis Hamilton being crassly branded a "d**khead" by the local roads minister, the car he used to do burnouts before it was seized by police outside Albert Park last Friday is now a sought-after item.

A Mercedes-Benz Australia spokesman said "more than half a dozen" phone calls have been made by dealers on behalf of potential buyers for the $150,000 silver C63 AMG.

He confirmed that McLaren paid the fee to have the car released from the police garage on Monday.

On the same day, the British team’s 25-year-old driver said he was no longer angry about being told to make an extra pitstop last Sunday, despite saying on the radio that it was a "freaking terrible idea".

"The team has explained to me their reasoning behind the second pitstop, and I can understand what they were trying to do in trying to cover both Mark and Nico for later in the race," said Hamilton.

Interestingly, Sauber’s C29 car was hailed in the pre-season for being the kindest on its tyres, but Pedro de la Rosa late on Sunday was ruing the decision not to make a second tyre pitstop.

"In the end I really had no rear tyres left. I was absolutely helpless when Michael and Jaime came in the end to overtake me," said the Spaniard.

Hamilton, meanwhile, is now relaxing in Malaysia, relieved that the burnout saga and the fallout of the botched race strategy will soon be replaced by the buildup to this weekend’s grand prix.

"It was an interesting weekend. I am glad to be back in Malaysia and to be having a bit of space," he is quoted as saying by the Daily Mail.

"It wasn’t a great few days in Australia," Hamilton admitted.

He denied that the events are proof that he needs to quickly appoint a replacement for his former manager Anthony Hamilton.

"I’m leaving it for a while. I am happy at the moment. It’s a big transition, and I have a lot of good people around me. There is no need to rush," said Hamilton.