Planet-F1

'McLaren more committed, more motivated'

Saturday 11th October 2008

As McLaren fight to secure both the Drivers' and Constructors' Championships this season, Ron Dennis has hailed their team spirit.

With three races, including Sunday's Japanese GP, remaining, Lewis Hamilton stands seven points clear in the Drivers' standings, with McLaren holding a one-point lead over Ferrari in the Constructors' table.

And, according to Dennis, if they achieve success in both Championships this season, it will be down to the commitment of staff at the team's factories.

"We're more together, more focused, more committed and more motivated than ever before," Dennis said after Friday's free practice sessions at the Fuji Speedway.

"Whomever I talk to in our team I notice the same thing. There's a tremendous feeling of comradeship - in our garage and in our hospitality units here at Fuji and of course back in Woking, in Brixworth and Stuttgart."

Team spirit was less evident at last year's Japanese GP, by which time Hamilton and then team-mate Fernando Alonso had long been engaged in a feud.

However, after watching 23-year-old Hamilton clock the third-fastest time in Friday practice, Dennis added that there would be no such problems this year.

"That comradeship, that will to win, will persist throughout this race weekend and throughout the final two weekends," he said.

McLaren are chasing their first Constructors' title in a decade, with Mika Hakkinen their last World Champion in 1999.