Mercedes are to take two mechanical gambles as they go all out for victory at the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix this weekend.
The first is not to change the engine Lewis Hamilton used in Brazil, despite suffering damage and an “imminent failure” warning during the race at Interlagos.
“The problem in Brazil was caused by a failure in the variable inlet system that caused unstable combustion,” the team explained in a statement on Friday
“Engine settings were changed to contain the risk of failure and maximise performance during the race. We have made hardware changes outside the sealed perimeter and we are running that engine (PU3) today.
“Data will be reviewed after FP2 to make sure all is okay.”
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The second risk is to re-introduce the controversial rear wheel rim design that was debuted in Spa but was taken off from the United States Grand Prix under the threat of a protest by Ferrari.
Requests for clarification had been made to the FIA on the matter, with the governing body declaring the design legal, but that wasn’t enough to appease the Mercedes boss.
“We wanted to avoid the controversy,” Mercedes boss Toto Wolff told Sky Sports F1. “It was a very hot topic. Ferrari didn’t like them, [even though] we got permission from the FIA to run them.
“We didn’t want the championship to end up in the courtroom. We didn’t see it is a massive benefit.
“[Now] the championship is decided so we can have a controversy after the last race. It doesn’t affect the championship any more.
“We are testing them today and then we will decide whether we run them open or closed,” he continued. “Probably we will run them open and see what the effect is.”