18/04/2007
NEWS STORY
Looking at the proud smiles over the last few race weekends, one could be forgiven for thinking that Lewis Hamilton has two fathers, Anthony and Ron Dennis.
Despite appearances, namely the semi-permanent Victor Meldrew frown, Dennis is an emotional man, and has been visibly moved to tears many times during his career.
Having helped nurture Hamilton, and gone against the sceptics who warned that he was bringing the 22-year-old into F1 too early, Dennis can allow himself the proud smile and the broad grin of satisfaction.
Speaking to The Sun, the Englishman admits that he was never in any doubt of the youngster's ability, however, he was adamant that Lewis would not be allowed to simply get into the car and go racing.
"The behaviour of a car is determined by the input of the driver," says Dennis. "Lewis has grasped that, he understands exactly what the car's going to do.
"I said to him, quite simply, this is what I expect you to be. I expect you to be the fittest driver on the grid and to know the rules better than anybody else. I expect you to understand what happens when you ask the car to change gear, not just that it happens. I want you to know why. And I want you to have at least 1,000 hours of simulator work."
The rest, as they say, is history, for after three races the former GP2 champion is joint leader of the Formula One World Championship.
Yet Dennis refuses to get carried away, and will not tempt fate by predicting when the youngster might take his place on the top step of the podium. Instead he just marvels at Hamilton's progress thus far, intent on keeping the youngster's feet firmly on the ground no matter how high his star rises.
"His approach is confidence devoid of all arrogance," says Dennis. "I just hope that we as a team can maintain an environment in which he stays the same."