Dennis still determined to step down

Dennis, who will turn 60 in June, said last year that he would not be McLaren's team principal in five years' time, as he was planning to hand over his responsibilities.

And although the Briton says he will stay in his role as long as the shareholders want him to stay, he has told F1 Racing magazine in an interview that he wants to reduce the amount of work he does in order to focus on other things.

Dennis also believes that the current management is fully prepared to take over the reigns of the team and continue to be successful without him.

"I don't think there's ever been a time when my relationship with the management of the McLaren Group has been better," Dennis told the magazine. "The simple fact is that (F1 CEO) Martin (Whitmarsh) and his senior colleagues are more than capable of running the company without me in the chief executive officer role.

"It's a role that I know Martin wants, and rightly so. He's been fiercely loyal to McLaren over the years, as have many other people, so when I finally go it'll be more about stepping aside than stepping out.

"I'm very much enjoying the situation the team are in at the moment, but that doesn't change my desire to give other people the opportunity they deserve to build their careers.

"So, to answer your question directly, I'll definitely stay in the capacity of chairman as long as the shareholders want me to, and certainly, I have strong moral obligations - and moral obligations are the strongest obligations you can ever have - not only to our new shareholders in Bahrain but also to DaimlerChrysler and to Mansour (Ojjeh).

"But I don't see myself continuing to work as hard as I currently do forever, and there are things I want to do that I just wouldn't have the time to do if I were to remain as chief executive officer of the McLaren Group in the long term."