20/01/2007
NEWS STORY
Clearly feeling that Kimi Raikkonen's off-track escapades damaged his World Championship chances - though the Finn is sure to have his own view on the matter - Ron Dennis has warned his drivers Fernando Alonso and Lewis Hamilton to lay off the booze.
As his drivers prepare for a three-day private test at Valencia, complimenting their on-track testing with a rigorous winter training programme in Finland (!), Dennis told the Daily Mirror: "Athletes train under very strict regimes in an attempt to win gold and don't get the rewards Grand Prix drivers generally do.
"We don't see why drivers need to have even one drink in the course of a season," he added.
It is true that during his time with the team Kimi Raikkonen was involved in a couple of incidents, one of them resulting in a warning from Dennis which is believed to have permanently soured the relationship between the two men. However, it would be wholly wrong to blame the Finn's off-track antics for his failure to win the World Championship, the blame for that lays firmly at the door of McLaren-Mercedes.
Furthermore, it seems somewhat hypocritical for Dennis to be laying down the law regarding the demon booze when his cars - and drivers - are festooned with logos belonging to Johnnie Walker, the Scotch whisky brand owned by Diageo.
At a time when Dennis is seeking a new, more youthful, image for his team, admitting that research has revealed that some people find McLaren to be "cold, not particularly user-friendly and slightly aloof", it might be an idea to cut his drivers a little slack, after all, they are human and not automatons.
It's also worth noting that in a couple of public appearances with Ferrari, Raikkonen has appeared more verbose than at any time during his stint with the Woking team.