Lewis Hamilton’s 2014 Formula 1 title campaign is still very much on track, however he admits that he wanted to carry on racing despite being called into the pits early on in the Australian Grand Prix.

The Melbourne polesitter had to retire at Albert Park after his Mercedes engine – among a mere allocation of just five for the entire 19-race campaign – dropped from six to five cylinders in the early stages of the race.

“While I wanted to keep going,” Hamilton said in Australia, “we had to play safe and save the engine.”

But it appears that Mercedes’ efforts to ‘save’ the turbo V6 ‘power unit’ have at least paid off.