Dennis: 'My sights are set on winning'

Mika Hakkinen starts fourth and David Coulthard eighth as they struggled with balance problems with the MP4-16 while the two Ferraris occupied the front row.

The McLarens were half a second slower in qualifying in Malaysia last year, Dennis said, but half a second faster in a race they could easily have won. And the same could happen this weekend.

"My sights are set on winning - they are always set on winning," he insisted. "I am pretty confident we will be strong in the race.

"We had problems with reliability in testing and that became the focus of our effort, but there are no resources better than the ones we have got and Mercedes have got to overcome our problems quickly."

He reacted to reports that BMW were taking over from Mercedes as the best German engine in Formula 1 after Ralf Schumacher's Williams-BMW qualified third.

"It's sheer lunacy to say BMW are king of the castle. That's wrong," he insisted. "We are a strong team with strong partners. You can't be the best all the time. We are going to knuckle down and get the job done.

"We could have done a better job, but everyone in the pitlane was hurting in one particular area under the new regulations. We know what we've got to do but it will take a little time.

"We will make improvements for the race and we have got another step planned for Brazil."