As McLaren-Mercedes managing director Ron Dennis stood on the pit wall at Monza, watching his drivers, Mika Hakkinen and David Coulthard, falter, the expression on his face never flickered.

That bland countenance concealed the pain he felt as Ferrari moved another step closer to overturning the form book with a masterly one-two success in the Italian Grand Prix.

Tomorrow at the Nurburgring in the Luxembourg Grand Prix, Dennis will climb back on his perch for what could be the championship decider.

With Hakkinen and the Ferrari team leader Michael Schumacher level on 80 points at the head of the drivers' championship, Dennis should find the pressure even more intense.

There may be no outbreak of anti-Coulthard hysteria from the grandstands opposite the pits, as there was at Monza because of the Scot's collision with Schumacher in Belgium, but this is the home patch of Mercedes-Benz, McLaren's engine partner, and therefore one of the most important races of the season.

"It is well known that I believe confidence is a weakness and not a strength," said Dennis before the first free-practice session yesterday.

Mika Hakkinen was fastest of all yesterday in his rush to claim the 1998 World Drivers title tomorrow - comfortably ahead of local hero Michael Schumacher who could only manage fourth fastest time in his short wheelbase Ferrari F300.

"What I am quite certain of is that the whole McLaren team has focused on optimising both our reliability and performance. We feel no pressure from anybody other than ourselves. The only thing we cannot control is the weather, which will play a role in the outcome."

McLaren's manager was referring to the forecast of rain which could play into Schumacher's hands tomorrow. Yet wet weather holds no fears for Hakkinen, as the Finn proved when he built a half-minute lead over the Ferrari driver during the rain-soaked opening stages of the British Grand Prix at Silverstone.

Hakkinen can become the champion by winning the race without Schumacher scoring. That would mean that even were Schumacher to win the final race in Japan on November 1st with Hakkinen picking up no points, so that they dead-heated on 90 points with seven wins apiece, the Finn would take the title on the basis of two second places to Schumacher's one.

It is only eight months since Hakkinen and Coulthard lapped the field in the Australian Grand Prix at Melbourne. But Dennis was always aware that their early advantage could be eroded in a season that has become, for him, a diplomatic balancing act.

McLaren have been accused of paranoia, yet there have been episodes which have caused the conspiracy theorists to think that motor racing's governing body, the FIA, has indeed been biased in Ferrari's favour.

Certainly a few eyebrows were raised at the way McLaren were censured for imposing team orders on Hakkinen and Coulthard in Melbourne, only for the FIA to issue a "clarification" and allow such private arrangements after the Ferrari number two, Eddie Irvine, relinquished third place to Schumacher in the Austrian Grand Prix.

Ferrari claimed Irvine had "brake trouble" which allowed the German to overtake a few laps from the end.

Moreover, Dennis had strong words with the Italian team's sporting director Jean Todt during the Austrian race on the subject of conformity with the technical regulations.

It is thought he told Todt that McLaren were considering a formal protest against Ferrari, whom they suspected of using an illegal asymmetric braking system which improved stability turning into fast corners.

The fact that the protest never materialised suggested either that Ferrari satisfied their key rival that all was above board or that they modified their cars.

"We are pretty resilient to most things," said Dennis. "We have to remain cool and calm, avoiding the understandable media attention on the fight between ourselves and Ferrari. No one is panicking.

If Hakkinen emerges with the title it will be a popular success. The mild-mannered Finn had 96 attempts before he scored his first Formula One win in last year's European Grand Prix at Jerez. This season he has reaped deserved reward for his unwavering commitment to the team he joined as a test driver at the start of 1993.

At McLaren, loyalty and commitment are reciprocated. Dennis and his colleagues stuck by Hakkinen, nursing him back to full competitiveness after a life-threatening accident in practice for the 1995 Australian Grand Prix in Adelaide.

Dennis is something of an enigma. He cultivates a cool, reserved demeanour because he is an intensely private person, yet this can come across as arrogance. And he is fiercely protective of McLaren's interests and passionate about the team and the people who work for them.

"Ron is a guy who loves his motor racing," said Ken Tyrrell, who last year sold his team after 30 years in the business. "He is absolutely straightforward and honest."