Dennis writes off Hamilton's chances

• Former team principle focuses on 2010 title fight
• 'Brawn will win a lot of races' says Ron Dennis

Ron Dennis yesterday all but wrote off Lewis Hamilton's chances of a successful defence of his world title only two races into the new formula one season.

McLaren has suffered what its former team principal described as a "torrid" first two grands prix, with Hamilton disqualified in Australia and picking up only a single championship point in Malaysia's truncated race. His team-mate, Heikki ­Kovalainen, has yet to complete a circuit.

That has led Dennis, who yesterday confirmed he had left ­motor sport altogether, to believe his team is suffering for its efforts in landing the title last year, a tussle with Ferrari that went to the final race. The new Brawn Racing team has taken advantage of this year's rule changes, with Jenson Button winning the first two races. Now Dennis, who stood down as team principal in favour of Martin Whitmarsh earlier this year, fears the title is already out of ­Hamilton's reach.

"After all that's happened this season people seem to be forgetting that we've got the numbers one and two on our cars," Dennis said. "They might not be next year, but we will do everything we can to make it happen again in two years.

"I'm absolutely distraught about the lack of performance of our grand prix cars. Look at Ferrari and McLaren, fighting tooth and nail to win last year's championship. Brawn will win a lot of races because of the competition having to focus on ­winning the championship last year."

Hamilton's frustrations with his team's performance this season extend beyond the sluggishness of his car. Tensions between Dennis and Anthony Hamilton, the driver's father and agent, grew when the world champion was found to have lied to stewards at the Melbourne grand prix under ­orders from Dave Ryan, who has since been sacked as sporting director.

But despite that friction, which has led to reports linking Hamilton with a move to Ferrari, Dennis yesterday backed the 24-year-old to win more world titles with McLaren. "Lewis has a contract and it's a long contract," he said. "He's been very fortunate always to be in a competitive McLaren. This is motor racing. Sometimes companies give you a competitive racing car, sometimes they don't."

Dennis's departure has certainly strengthened the position of Whitmarsh, who yesterday admitted for the first time that he had offered his resignation as team principal immediately after the Malaysian grand prix, on the back of the "Liargate" scandal.

The McLaren board of directors declined his offer to quit after 20 years with the team. Yet there is an unspoken feeling ahead of the FIA's inquiry on 29 April that the change in management structure may help to appease the sport's governing body.

"I think anyone who has looked at the relationship between McLaren and the FIA over the last few years would have to conclude that it would be healthier for all of us to have a more positive, constructive relationship than perhaps we've had in the past," Whitmarsh said yesterday in Shanghai. "Whilst I don't want to get into it, in fairness to Ron, he was not, to the best of my knowledge, involved in anything that happened in Australia or in the lead up to Malaysia. So therefore I don't believe there's a link."

Whitmarsh denied that either Lewis Hamilton or his father had forced the change in team management because they were unhappy with the way the matter had been handled and they had threatened to leave McLaren.

"Personally, I've found Lewis and Anthony to be very supportive through what has been a very difficult time," Whitmarsh said. "They have been with the team a long time and I can see no reason why that will not continue for a long time. There is a mix of emotions; I think Lewis had some sadness about it as well because he has a long-standing relationship with Ron, so it's a mixture of things. And it is the same with all of us.

We've got some sadness at the situation, but at the same time it's an opportunity for some of us to either step up to the plate and get the job done or fail. If we are honest about it, there has got to be a tinge of excitement in that as well."