Both Massa and Kimi Raikkonen will use fresh units in Brazil, while Hamilton will not be benefiting from the 'joker engine' at Interlagos and will use a one-race old powerplant in his final race of the season. In fact, this is the main aspect taken into consideration by Ferrari in their title fight with rivals McLaren. According to race engineer Rob Smedley, Ferrari are hoping to take advantage of the new unit this weekend.
“It gives us more room to move. Basically it means we can drive the whole race with maximum revs,” said Smedley according to Swiss magazine Motorsport Aktuell. Therefore, Massa will not have to worry about pushing too hard in the race and will concentrate only on his driving throughout the Brazilian weekend.
Not only Hamilton will race with the engine used in China 2 weeks ago, but the Brit is also scheduled to start the Interlagos race with a 2-race old gearbox. It was in fact a problem with his transmission that kept him from winning the title last year, when he came to Brazil with the same 7-point advantage over Raikkonen. He eventually finished the race in 7th place and ended the season in 2nd place.
Nevertheless, McLaren are expected to bring something new to the table in Brazil, as team's CEO Martin Whitmarsh announced earlier last week that Hamilton will be benefiting from an improved aerodynamic package in the season finale. He also insisted that McLaren will try to 'run Lewis' engine in a safer setting' in Brazil to avoid damaging the powerplant throughout the next weekend.
The Brit only needs 5th place or better to secure his first F1 crown and admitted that he will not be pushing for the win on Sunday but try to stay inside the Top 5 until the finish line.
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