Dennis driven crazy!

May 25 2007 By The Evening Chronicle

McLaren boss Ron Dennis has snapped back at the critics who dare to suggest how to handle rising star Lewis Hamilton.

The 22-year-old's burgeoning Formula One career has prompted many to offer their opinion on what they feel is the right way forward.

That has only served to anger Dennis, who has told them to shut up and mind their own business.

He said: "What I find annoying is there appears to be a rash of so-called experts, people who have never run a competitive grand prix team, who profess to be so knowledgeable about what is and is not right for Lewis.

"They also profess to know about his character, his strengths and his weaknesses.

"They should be quiet and concentrate on their own business, which I am sure would be better for them.

"I do not want to be too aggressive towards those people, but they know who they are.

"They are failures in many of the things they have done, and this is a success story, with my job as team principal to be supportive of the drivers.

"We will never do anything to the detriment of our main objective, which is to win races and try to put Lewis - and Fernando Alonso - in the best possible position to do that."

Dennis has also had to counter suggestions Hamilton and Alonso are the best of enemies, rather than team-mates striving for the same cause.

It was Alonso who took the honours at the end of yesterday's two practice sessions for Sunday's Monaco Grand Prix, while Hamilton suffered the ignominy of his first race weekend accident.

The current leader of the world championship walked away unharmed after ploughing his McLaren into a tyre barrier at Sainte Devote.