Dennis praises Hamilton's commitment

Hamilton started the season in perfect style with a commanding victory in the Australian Grand Prix, showing the team's performance has not been hurt by the long-running spy affair of 2007.

Speaking after the race, Dennis admitted that the result had brought many emotions - especially when it came to the way that Hamilton had helped bond everyone together.

When asked what he said to Hamilton after the race, Dennis said: "Just words that I thought reflected the unswerving commitment he's had to the team. I know that, he knows that and we know what we're about as individuals and team members, and they were words that reflect that.

"They were based more on my emotions of us as a team than as individuals, or anything that relates to the past. In difficult circumstances, teams either separate or come closer together and we came closer together. You just feel that commitment is rewarded if the result comes right."

Dennis made it clear his team had completely moved on from the events of last year, and were simply focused on repeating their victory in next weekend's Malaysian Grand Prix.

"We've been looking forward - that's what we've been trying to convey to everyone: keep looking forward," he said. "We're not going to spend any time in the past and certainly not at any Grand Prix.

"You have to learn from everything you experience in life. We're forward-looking and don't want to waste energy and time looking back."

Dennis thinks it too early to judge where McLaren stand compared to Ferrari, especially because their likely main title rivals never really got the chance to show their full speed over the Australian weekend.

"Ferrari had to compromise their race with things that happened yesterday and in the race," he said. "It's not their true pace and we're under no illusions that they're very competitive team and are well run. They will be a very strong team in all the remaining races, and we've got to be stronger than them."