Dennis 'hacked off' despite Hamilton pole

Dennis, who has vowed to keep his emotions in check to ensure even-handed treatment of his drivers, made clear he was deeply upset by revelations that Ferrari technical information had been found in the possession of a senior McLaren employee.

Even on such a momentous afternoon for the Mercedes-powered team, with 22-year-old, championship-leading rookie Hamilton perfectly placed for his third win of an astonishing season on his home debut, Dennis was still smarting.

"I got a bit of a lecture from (Mercedes motorsport vice-president) Norbert (Haug) about half an hour ago for looking miserable," Dennis told reporters after qualifying at Silverstone.

"Actually I am massively hacked off by the whole thing, to be honest.

"There still seems to be a strong desire to penalise McLaren for a set of circumstances that are completely out of its control and it's a cloud that I don't like living under.

"It sort of overshadows everything," added Dennis, whose team suspended the individual concerned and are adamant that none of the information found its way to the team or into the design of the cars.

"I am still massively upset. But putting that aside, I am even more upset about the reaction from a whole range of people who have known this company and me for years and yet are quite happy to dance on the grave, as it were."

Dennis made sure that he praised double world champion Fernando Alonso, 14 points behind Hamilton in the championship and third in Saturday's qualifying, as much as the local hero.

Alonso, now outqualified for four races in a row by his precocious teammate, had looked every bit as downcast as his employer as reporters fired question after question at Hamilton.

"If I start eulogising about anybody, I would probably start with Fernando," said Dennis.

"He's a double world champion who really gets on with the job and is very focused and really has an intense desire to win. With Lewis it is easy to eulogise about his performance because he is new to Formula One. But I want to be balanced."