Hamilton says he won't go off track

• Former world champion without two mentors this season• 'I race for the same team and I've still the same determination'Lewis Hamilton has no intention of going off the rails now he no longer has by his side two dominant characters who have ruled his life.Less than a year ago Hamilton lost his mentor Ron Dennis who stepped down as McLaren's team principal, many believe to ensure his team avoided severe punishment over the 'lie-gate' scandal. Dennis had been an instrumental figure in Hamilton's career since the age of 13 when he was taken on by McLaren and Mercedes as part of their driver development programme.Then just last week, the 25-year-old announced a parting of the ways from his father Anthony as his manager, insisting he wanted to build a more normal father-son relationship away from Formula One.Ahead of the season-opening grand prix in Bahrain this weekend, it leaves Hamilton without a guiding figure at a race for the first time in his life, a situation he is convinced he can handle."When Ron stepped back, nothing really changed. We've still a good relationship, and if anything it has actually grown," said Hamilton. "Rather than a stressed, thoughtful boss thinking about the job and always giving you advice, now he just gives an opinion. He is so relaxed now, and I think it will probably be the same with my dad."Inevitably, with my dad taking a step back, I will have to make some more decisions for myself. But then I've always been able to do that anyway. For example, I chose where I wanted to live, although I still hope to be guided in the same way."Hamilton maintains there is no wild side about to emerge. "I am who I am," he said. "I don't think anybody has stopped me from being who I wanted to be. When I arrived in the sport, I didn't go out and buy a million different cars, I took my time."Maybe I might buy one car this year, and I might go to one more Amber Lounge [post-race] party this year than I did last year. Who knows? But that's not being wild."I've still the same girl, I race for the same team and I've still the same dedication and determination. I don't think you should try and change something that works. My style, my approach, has always worked for me, and I tend to keep it that way."For now, until Hamilton acquires a new manager, the team principal Martin Whitmarsh will have to take up the mantle of guiding light.Although Hamilton and team-mate Jenson Button are all smiles at the moment as they attempt to build their friendship, Whitmarsh has recognised inevitable issues may arise.As Whitmarsh recently said: "At some point, one of them is going to feel uncomfortable because he is getting beaten by the other."That could lead to friction and be a time when Hamilton will need to turn to someone for advice, although he feels it will not come to that."Formula One is the pinnacle of the sport, it's so intense, so much is going on, so you can't guess whether we will have a tough time at some stage, or something like that," said Hamilton. "But we're professionals, and we have a mutual respect for one another that we will deal with it professionally. That's my feeling."Lewis HamiltonFormula OneMotor sportguardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media Limited 2010 | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds

McLaren unveils £150,000 super car

Ron Dennis will oversee production in new £40m Woking facility after he quit carmaker's Formula One team last yearRon Dennis, the boss of McLaren, insisted today he had "moved on" from Formula One as he launched the company's new super car.Production of the road car, the MP4-12C, which will cost about £150,000, will start next year at a new £40m facility at the company's futuristic headquarters in Woking, creating 300 jobs.McLaren Automotive, which is planning more new models, is hoping to eventually sell 4,000 cars worldwide each year. The company has made limited numbers of more expensive super cars in the past, but never this many.Speaking to the Guardian, Dennis admitted he had expected withdrawal symptoms at the Australian grand prix last spring, his first after quitting the sport."I was full of expectation in Australia last year that I would go and get some sort of withdrawal," the 62-year-old said. "But I don't have to watch every minute of a grand prix even when I'm not there. It's part of my life and it's not gone but I've moved on to bigger challenges."Nevertheless, he retains a strong attachment to the sport which he dominated for decades. Looking out from his office, over a lake and towards the field where the new production facility will be constructed, he said a tunnel would be built to connect the two sites, carrying what he calls "umbilical cords" such as IT lines.Dennis, whose fortune the Sunday Times last year estimated at £87m, is clearly proud about McLaren's achievements in F1, making it the sport's second most successful team after Ferrari. Asked if he was worried that McLaren's push into larger-scale manufacturing was a risk, given the demise of other iconic British sports car manufacturers such as TVR, he said: "I don't want to be in any way derogatory to the business models of any of the other small car manufacturers. I never saw them in any grand prix or have any success in the motor sport it represents."He also hit back at speculation that he had been forced to pass on the reins of the F1 team after McLaren was fined $100m (£65m) by its governing body, run by Max Mosley, over the 2007 "spygate" saga. He insisted he had been planning his move for some time."The story is I'm afraid heavily spun. My plan was always to pass team principal to Martin [Whitmarsh] at the beginning of 2009. Even if you're reluctantly pushed on to a pedestal then there's nothing more certain that the same people pushing you on to the pedestal will take every opportunity to rip you off it," he said.Automotive industryManufacturing sectorMcLarenFerrariFormula OneTim Webbguardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media Limited 2010 | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds

Mercedes exit is good for McLaren insists Dennis

Mercedes' decision to buy Formula One champions Brawn and sell their stake in McLaren is good for all those involved, according to McLaren co-owner and former team head Ron Dennis.

Button agrees to join McLaren

• Button will sign contract with McLaren in the next few days• Champion unfazed by being Lewis Hamilton's team-mateJenson Button has agreed terms to join McLaren on a £6m-a-year deal and could sign his formal three-year contract to partner Lewis Hamilton in an all-British line-up within the next few days.The Guardian understands that the world champion has turned his back on Brawn following protracted negotiations and will almost double his salary with the Woking-based team. The 29-year-old was given a guided tour of McLaren's factory last Friday and, although neither the team nor Button's management would confirm the deal tonight, sources close to McLaren hinted: "I think Jenson liked what he saw and they liked him too."In switching to McLaren Button will be going against advice from Formula One grandees including Sir Stirling Moss, Sir Jackie Stewart, Niki Lauda and Martin Brundle, all of whom feel he might be biting off more than he can chew taking on Hamilton on his home turf in equal cars.But for Button the prospect of going head-to-head with a close friend and the man regarded by many in the pit lane as possibly the fastest of all will just be part of the challenge of defending his title. It is unlikely either Hamilton, who earns about £12m a year at McLaren, or his father Anthony, who has managed the 2008 world champion since his days as a teenage kart racer, will have been consulted on this beyond the normal deployment of good manners. McLaren have always had the resources and philosophy required to field two fully competitive cars and have always sought the strongest possible driver line-ups they could engage.The decision by the newly crowned world champion to leave the team built from the ashes of Honda by Ross Brawn came on the day it was officially announced that Mercedes-Benz had switched allegiances from McLaren and purchased a controlling interest in Brawn GP. They will field their cars under the Mercedes banner in 2010.It had been widely thought that Button would remain with the team alongside Nico Rosberg, the preferred Mercedes nominee, for 2010 following Rubens Barrichello's move to Williams. But there are suggestions that Button was never at the top of the Mercedes wish list. In fact, on Sunday Norbert Haug, the Mercedes motor sport vice-president, hinted that the company was already in talks to sign Nick Heidfeld from BMW, raising the possibility of two Germans going head-to-head with two Englishmen for next year's championship. Nick Fry, Brawn's chief executive, played down those rumours tonight, saying: "I can confidently say that [speculation] is totally incorrect – Mercedes is an international company. Clearly a German driver would be nice for them but we don't need two German drivers, that's not the intent."He added: "I hope Jenson is still with us next season. We've been together for a good few years now and we have succeeded in winning the world championship together and we want Jenson to be with us. But we have to recognise that Formula One is not divorced from the rest of the world. We have worked within a budget [and] if we spend in one area then we cannot spend in another area."The purchase of Brawn was funded by Mercedes' parent company, Daimler AG, who will own 45.1% of the team's equity, while Ross Brawn and the other senior management will hold 24.9% and the Abu Dhabi-based Aarbar investments will hold 30%. The team will continue to be run from its headquarters at Brackley in Oxfordshire.Under the new arrangements finalised today McLaren will have the facility of using Mercedes engines through to 2015 if they wish to. "This is a win-win situation, for both McLaren and Daimler," said Ron Dennis, chairman of the McLaren group and the man who originally forged the team's alliance with Mercedes back in 1995. "I've often stated that it's my belief that in order to survive and thrive in 21st-century Formula One a team must become much more than merely a team. In order to develop and sustain the revenue streams required to compete and win grands prix and world championships companies that run Formula One teams must broaden the scope of their commercial activities."Nonetheless, all of our partners will of course continue to play a crucial role in our Formula One programme. For that reason, and because the engines they produce are very competitive, we're delighted that Mercedes-Benz has committed to continue not only as an engine supplier but also as a partner of ours until 2015 – and perhaps thereafter."McLaren will not be disadvantaged by no longer being perceived as Mercedes-Benz's standard bearer in the Formula One front line. They and Mercedes have gone their separate ways because of conflicting interests in the high-performance road car arena. But out on the circuits McLaren remains potentially a consistently formidable winning machine. Button knows this and that is why he will be driving one of their cars next season.Jenson ButtonMcLarenBrawnFormula OneMotor sportAlan Henryguardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media Limited 2009 | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds

McLaren to buy back Mercedes holding

Mercedes-Benz parent company Daimler AG will have stakes in two Formula 1 teams next season, with a majority shareholding in Brawn GP coming into effect while its 40% stake in McLaren Racing is set to be bought out by the McLaren Group over the coming year...  

Ron Dennis returns to the F1 paddock

McLaren chairman Ron Dennis made a timely return to a Formula One paddock on Saturday, witnessing his protégé Lewis Hamilton dominate qualifying for the inaugural Abu Dhabi Grand Prix...