Dennis Commiserates with Jordan

McLaren-Mercedes chairman Ron Dennis praised rival team chief Eddie Jordan for his "sporting" behaviour after riding an emotional rollercoaster during the Brazilian Grand Prix on Sunday.

Jordan, whose Ford-powered team compete with a much lower budget to that of Dennis' championship contenders, appeared to have won the race when it was stopped on the 55th lap after a crash left the circuit cluttered with debris.

But the results were declared two laps earlier, when McLaren driver Kimi Raikkonen was in the lead, and Jordan's Giancarlo Fisichella was left to settle for second.

"Our commiserations but admiration must go to the Jordan team," said Dennis, who was confident his team had won as soon as the race was stopped. "Their sporting behaviour after the race was a credit to them and the sport."

Raikkonen stepped up to the top of the podium for the second time in successive races with third-placed driver Fernando Alonso missing the celebrations after being taken away in an ambulance following his race-stopping crash.

But it was another champagne moment for McLaren, who extended their championship lead to 18 points from rivals Renault and 25 points more than World Champions Ferrari.

"A tremendous and well-deserved result for the team," said Dennis. "We varied our strategies with the hope of covering all the potential eventualities, which certainly played a role in Kimi's race win. For both drivers to finish with intact cars was a credit to their driving skills and the equipment provided by the team as a whole."

Raikkonen's teammate David Coulthard was unlucky not to claim the win after he stopped for fuel just before the lap on which the results were declared. He was classified fourth.

Coulthard, who won the season-opening Australian Grand Prix, led for much of the shortened 55-lap race and would have been just four points behind Raikkonen if he had not pitted just before the accident.

Instead, he now lies 11 points behind his teammate and is guaranteed to stay behind him in the championship after the next race in San Marino.

"David's drive was outstanding and fourth place was poor reward for his efforts," added Dennis.