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McLaren open to Bernie's F1 medals idea

January 17, 2009 15:45 IST

McLaren can live with Bernie Ecclestone's plan to ensure the Formula One title goes to the driver who wins most races in a season, team boss Ron Dennis has said.

Formula One's commercial supremo Ecclestone is pushing an Olympic-style medals system, with gold awarded to the race winner and the title going to the driver who wins most.

McLaren's Lewis Hamilton won the championship last year by a single point despite winning fewer races than Ferrari's Brazilian driver Felipe Massa.

"Obviously Bernie still has very strong views about his medal idea and I think he has voiced those opinions," Dennis said after the launch of his team's new car at their Woking factory on Friday.

"But in essence I think his view is that the person that wins the most races should win the world championship.

"We don't disagree with that view, and if that becomes the objective then we'll make sure we win enough races to win the world championship," he said.

"Our objective was to win the world championship within the points structure that existed in 2008, and that is what we did."

Britain's Hamilton, who became the youngest ever Formula One champion at the age of 23, was less convinced by Ecclestone's argument.

"We work hard as a team to win and be consistent and being consistent, whether you finish first or third, it's got to be the driver and team that's done the best job over the whole year and not just who's won the most races," he said.

Ecclestone's idea is still under consideration, although the governing International Automobile Federation said last month that it needed further research.

Source: REUTERS
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