Dennis promises equality between his drivers!

McLaren boss Ron Dennis has insisted that he will provide equal status to his two drivers in 2008 after the issues the British team faced on this subject in 2007.

McLaren spent much of last season managing the disputes between Lewis Hamilton and Fernando Alonso.

As Hamilton was a rookie, Alonso, the reigning double world champion at the time, felt entitled to preferential treatment from his former team. However, this went against McLaren’s policy of equal opportunities and caused a significant rift within the team.

This year, the Iberian is no longer with McLaren-Mercedes. He has been replaced by former Renault driver Heikki Kovalainen. And, even though it will be Hamilton’s second season with McLaren, Dennis has stated that Kovalainen will have as many chances of victory as his teammate.

« We have always treated our drivers this way, and we intend to continue doing so, » he stated on the official F1 website.

« For this year, Lewis and Heikki are satisfied with this policy, and I don’t foresee any problem from either of them in this regard. I expect them to be competitive and to collaborate to the same extent. »

The understanding between the two drivers should, according to Dennis, produce good things on the track. Hamilton is determined to recover from last year’s disappointment while Kovalainen is eager to prove what he is capable of.

« Like any ambitious person in motorsports, Lewis wants to win. So, yes, it was natural to be disappointed and to have been beaten in the championship only in the last race of the season, » he said.

He is only 23 years old, he is still learning, and he is still improving.

As for Kovalainen, he said: « We will see with his first results what he is capable of. We thought of Heikki for McLaren because we found him impressive in 2007, and he is already impressive with us in 2008. »

« And also talented. So, we are very happy to have been able to allow him to join the great Vodafone McLaren Mercedes family. »

« Heikki is already perfectly integrated within our team and company, and we expect good results from him for this 2008 season, » concluded Ron Dennis.