With McLaren’s 21-point lead and a maximum of 44 points on offer to any one team — 25 for victory, 18 for second, 1 for the fastest race lap — it is fair to say McLaren still remains in a great position to win its first constructors’ championship since 1998.
So, 24 points or more for McLaren does it and if Ferrari doesn’t win in Abu Dhabi, McLaren will only need to score 13 points.
Ferrari needs 22 points which in reality, means winning the race and seeing its other driver on the podium — anything other than that will require McLaren mishaps.
Why is all this important? Well, last year each additional place up the rankings was worth about £7million ($8.9m) as well applying a greater restriction on testing time in the wind tunnel — a handicapping system on car development.
Staff will have their bonuses built around winning the team championship, rather than the drivers’ title. So there may be a few Red Bull employees who would’ve been happier with a different piece of silverware this year.
