The team employed this tactic with great success in Malaysia in 1999 to ensure the title battle between Ferrari's Eddie Irvine and McLaren's MikaHakkinen went to the last race.
He is McLaren's first world champion since MikaHakkinen in 1999, and joins a club that includes his hero Ayrton Senna and all-time greats Alain Prost and Niki Lauda.
Races too often turn into processions with little real overtaking: a blistering start by stars like MikaHakkinen or Michael Schumacher can put one of them in front for the whole of the race, barring breakdowns or accidents.