McLaren boss Ron Dennis rejected reports of discord between world champion Fernando Alonso and team mate Lewis Hamilton on Thursday and told Formula One's 'so-called experts' to mind their own business.
"I'm amused at how some magazines have tried to position the team as having conflict in it," he told a Monaco Grand Prix news conference. "There is absolutely nothing further from the truth.
"If you were able to see the body language, how they compete playing in videogames and all of these things, you'd realise that yes, they are competitive and want to win but not to the detriment of the relationship they have with each other or the relationship within the team," he added.
Rookie Hamilton leads double world champion Alonso by two points in the standings after four races, a situation that has prompted some to suggest that their relationship has become strained.
Alonso is not used to being beaten by any team mate, eclipsing Italian Giancarlo Fisichella at Renault for the past two seasons, and Hamilton is presenting him with his toughest challenge yet. He has beaten the Spaniard in the last two races, becoming the youngest championship leader in the process. McLaren are also leading Ferrari in the constructors' standings. The 22-year-old Briton, despite his rookie status, is in many ways the established driver at McLaren after being backed by the team and Dennis for a decade while Alonso only arrived at the end of last year. Dennis, whose team are highly protective of the youngster, railed against the proliferation of pundits offering unwanted advice. "The other thing that I find slightly annoying is that there seems to be a rash of so-called experts, some people who have never really run a competitivegrand prix team, who suddenly profess to be so knowledgeable about what is and isn't right for Lewis, what is and isn't his character strength and his weaknesses," he declared. "I think they should just be quiet and concentrate on their own business which I'm sure would be better for them. "I don't want to be too aggressive to those people but they know who they are and they are failures in many of the things they've done," added Dennis. "This is a success story and their opinions are obviously sought by those members of the media that struggle with their own position." (Rtr)
Alonso is not used to being beaten by any team mate, eclipsing Italian Giancarlo Fisichella at Renault for the past two seasons, and Hamilton is presenting him with his toughest challenge yet. He has beaten the Spaniard in the last two races, becoming the youngest championship leader in the process. McLaren are also leading Ferrari in the constructors' standings. The 22-year-old Briton, despite his rookie status, is in many ways the established driver at McLaren after being backed by the team and Dennis for a decade while Alonso only arrived at the end of last year. Dennis, whose team are highly protective of the youngster, railed against the proliferation of pundits offering unwanted advice. "The other thing that I find slightly annoying is that there seems to be a rash of so-called experts, some people who have never really run a competitivegrand prix team, who suddenly profess to be so knowledgeable about what is and isn't right for Lewis, what is and isn't his character strength and his weaknesses," he declared. "I think they should just be quiet and concentrate on their own business which I'm sure would be better for them. "I don't want to be too aggressive to those people but they know who they are and they are failures in many of the things they've done," added Dennis. "This is a success story and their opinions are obviously sought by those members of the media that struggle with their own position." (Rtr)