McLaren driver Hamilton, who sits in fifth place in the Formula One championship with six rounds remaining, is saving his driving efforts for competition.

"I try to drive as little as possible these days," Hamilton told British magazine Hertfordshire Life.

"More often than not, I'll get chauffeur-driven ... I don't need the stress of traffic."

The 26-year-old Brit, who was fined $500 by a Melbourne magistrate after a "momentary lapse of judgment" in a high-spec Mercedes outside the Australian Grand Prix track in March last year, has since admitted that the offence had the potential to damage his public image.