Sunday August 29th, 1999

McLaren chief Ron Dennis came out to the defence of David Coulthard today, after the Belgian Grand Prix, saying that if anyone is at fault for the first corner come-together between the McLaren teammates, it was Mika Hakkinen and not the Scot. "If there's blame to be apportioned in that incident, then blame it on Mika and that's all there is to it," he said.

Hakkinen was seen clearly displeased on the podium today, even refusing to shake hands with winner Coulthard. None the less, team boss Dennis said he has no regrets about letting the two fight it out on the track, come what may. "It wasn't an easy decision. But we're just not prepared to sacrifice our integrity," Dennis said. "This isn't a sport for weak-minded people. If you're going to run a racing team, then you run a racing team. You've got to give the drivers equal equipment and there are many people who feel that when we say we allow them to race that it's no more than loose words, but the truth is just that - we let them race."

However, Dennis stressed that he is not ruling out using team orders later in the season, if it will be needed. "There will be a time when we influence the outcome of Grands Prix," Dennis said. "That certainly wasn't today but it may well be in the latter part of the season."