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Ferrari set to change Raikkonen's engine

Ferrari team principal Stefano Domenicali thinks his team will change Kimi Raikkonen's engine for the British Grand Prix following his exhaust problems in Magny-Cours

Raikkonen suffered a broken exhaust in the French GP, which cost him victory but also led to light damage to his car and engine.

And to avoid the possibility of further problems at Silverstone, the team are now set to replace Raikkonen's power unit for this weekend's race.

They can do so without the usual 10-place grid penalty because a new 'one free engine change' rule that was introduced at the start of this year.

Domenicali said on Tuesday: "As far as Kimi's engine is concerned and keeping the rules in mind, to avoid a penalty, I think that we will use a new unit to try to reduce the risk."

The approach with Raikkonen comes after Domenicali admitted that his team have thrown away points this year through poor reliability and mistakes.

"Looking at the numbers we can be satisfied of what we have done until now, but we can't forget that it wasn't all that smooth," he told Ferrari's official website. "We left some important points down the road, because of a lack of reliability or because of mistakes on every level. Our situation in the championship could be much better.

"Even during a weekend when our performance was much better than the one of our competitors, we risked to not reach our goal by a defect or some minor detail. We were able and also lucky to bring home Kimi's car (in France). But this alarm bell has to keep us alert."

Ferrari are locked in a tight title battle with rivals McLaren and BMW Sauber, and Domenicali says he is unsure of how the fight will pan out over the remainder of the season.

He is confident, however, that the fact his team have two drivers involved in the contest at the front is not a disadvantage for his outfit.

"McLaren might have something up the sleeve in terms of performance, while BMW has shown some consistency in terms of results. As far as the drivers' championship is concerned there are four drivers on the list. And we are glad that two come from our team.

"I hear from time to time that it might be difficult to have two drivers fighting against each other and at the same time against the drivers of the other teams. But I don't agree at all.

"When you work in great harmony and transparency inside the team and having two drivers, who can fight for the title, I'd say it's a resource and not a handicap."

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