McLaren eyes engine ‘joker’ advantage
With a new rule nicknamed the engine 'joker', each driver on the grid is permitted one out-of-sequence change without penalty.
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| Given the rain in Monza and the fact that peak engine performance is not needed, Ferrari appears to have wasted their 'joker' engine change for Massa |
But Dennis believes Ferrari's move at Monza was a "brave decision", given the Brazilian's delicately poised championship battle with Lewis Hamilton and still four races to go.
"Ferrari will be heavily penalized if they have an engine failure during practice," he is quoted as saying by The Guardian.
On a dry track in equal conditions, Ferrari and McLaren are closely matched for performance, which makes additional factors including weather conditions and engine 'jokers' all the more key.
"I think this world championship will boil down to whichever team and driver makes the fewest mistakes from now on," McLaren chief executive Martin Whitmarsh observes.
"We're lucky that both our drivers can still play their engine 'joker' card, which is reassuring, but it's all about finding strength in every single area and not exposing any weaknesses," he said.