F1: McLaren boss vows to ensure fair fight

Oct 9 2007 by Our Correspondent, Western Mail

McLAREN boss Ron Dennis is looking forward to a fair fight between his drivers for the Formula One world championship as one of the most dramatic seasons in recent history heads toward a final-race showdown.

Lewis Hamilton looked on course to become the first man ever to win the drivers’ crown in his debut season when leading the Chinese Grand Prix yesterday, only for the 22-year-old to strand his car in the gravel at the pit lane entrance when coming in for a change of tyres.

That opened the door for race winner Kimi Raikkonen and Hamilton’s team-mate Fernando Alonso, who finished second, to re-ignite their hopes of world championship glory with all three drivers now in with a chance of scooping the prestigious prize in Brazil.

Alonso had been highly critical of both Dennis and the Woking-based team after a poor qualifying performance on Saturday saw the Spaniard line up fourth on the grid.

But he later backtracked, saying he only expects to be treated in an equal manner to Hamilton, something Dennis was quick to reinforce.

“We will do everything in order that our drivers have the right opportunity to win the world championship,” he said.

“Both of them need to do different things and the team will be supportive of that.

“This has been a very competitive season between our drivers and it’s just going to go on for another race.

“We will do our very best as always to go there and win the race and win a world championship.”