McLaren boss Ron Dennis has taken Sir Jackie Stewart to task for stating Heikki Kovalainen should play his part in helping Lewis Hamilton become Formula One world champion this season.
Kovalainen certainly came to Hamilton's aid in the German Grand Prix nine days ago by pulling to one side at Hockenheim to allow his flying team-mate by and go on to win the race.
With eight races remaining, the Finn is seemingly out of the title picture as he trails championship leader Hamilton by 30 points.
That has led to three-times former Formula One champion Stewart claiming Hamilton "has to be supported by his team-mate".
With the 23-year-old scrapping for the crown with Ferrari duo Kimi Raikkonen and Felipe Massa, Stewart added: "Kovalainen has to be able take a position away from a Ferrari driver."
But that has earned a sharp rebuke from Dennis who is adamant there will be no number one and two driver status within his team.
"I have enormous respect for Sir Jackie, as does everyone at McLaren. He was one of grand prix racing's truly great world champions," remarked Dennis.
"Equally, we're always willing to accept constructive criticism, and the affection felt in Britain for Lewis means lots of people are anxious to give us well-intentioned advice.
"But the fact is Sir Jackie retired from motor racing in 1973, which is 35 years ago, and the sport has moved on in that time.
"Jackie's suggestion Lewis' World Championship campaign depends on Heikki's assistance presupposes Heikki's task is to drive in support of Lewis - and that simply isn't the case.
"Besides, other than the input that all our drivers get from the personnel whose job descriptions are dedicated to providing it, the truth is Lewis doesn't want any help.
"He and Heikki are good mates, but they're both highly-competitive individuals and they take their own decisions.
"We have a long history of giving our drivers equal treatment and equal opportunity, and that isn't about to change.
"Not every armchair critic will agree with that policy, but it's the way we go motor racing - and, to be frank, it's the way everyone goes motor racing these days."
1 comment:
Hey thats what team driving is all about. I you can't win then position yourself to help you team mate who can win. Thats just good teamwork.
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