Formula 1: McLaren team boss Ron Dennis is adamant that his two charges can
co-exist peacefully under the team umbrella despite claims that both
rookie Lewis Hamilton and world champion Fernando Alonso are too good
to play second fiddle.
McLaren lead the constructors' championship by 35 points from Ferrari after Hamilton secured his second career victory and seventh podium finish in a row at yesterday's United States Grand Prix in Indianapolis.
The race also marked the fourth time this season and third race in a row that the team have finished one-two, with two-time world champion Alonso winning in Malaysia and Monaco, while rookie Hamilton landed his maiden victory in Canada the weekend before last.
With the last two weeks dominated not only by Hamilton's remarkable successes on the track but also by accusations of tensions between the Briton and his Spanish team-mate, Dennis has made a point of praising his drivers' team ethic during and after the race at Indy.
Hamilton and Alonso were seen on television congratulating each other with a hug behind the podium backdrop and when they emerged in front of it they took their bows together.
"Their sporting behaviour on track and especially during the podium celebrations made the team proud to have two such great drivers," said Dennis.
Hamilton also spoke of his respect for the back-to-back world title holder Alonso.
"We're very, very close on the track, and I think we are getting closer and closer off track," said the world championship leader. "And our respect for each other I think is growing, and it's great.
"We're really happy for the team but once again, I'm just proud and honoured to be sitting next to him as I've always looked up to him for the last few years."
Dennis believes Lewis Hamilton and Fernando Alonso will be able to race even faster when the Formula One season resumes in France next month.
The boss was delighted with his drivers' dominance at the weekend when second-placed Alonso finished more than 11 seconds in front of Felipe Massa's Ferrari in third.
"Lewis and Fernando raced from beginning to end," he said with the Monaco controversy about team orders still fresh in the mind
"During the middle stint Fernando pushed hard and caught Lewis and this of course created some positive but tense moments on the pit wall.
"We were obviously happy to let them race but had to be mindful of the fact that our competition was not threatening our one-two finish.
"Fifteen laps from the end both drivers reduced their revs to save the engines for the French Grand Prix but still continued to race.
"We will continue to push hard in our development programme which will allow us to bring more performance to the French Grand Prix in two weeks' time."