Grapevine: Dennis defends Olympic expenditure

Dennis cited the potential for the Olympics to add to the country's international prestige and that the complaints about the investment required should be ignored.

"I can't understand the ridiculous squabble we are having in England over the issue of a relatively small amount of money with regard to the funding of the Olympic Games," said Dennis.

"We should be proud we've got the Olympic Games, we should pushing and reflecting in attitude the efforts of all the people have gone there and surpassed everybody's expectation with regard to the medals our country have won."

Dennis compared the criticism to the complaints surrounding the construction of the state-of-the-art McLaren Technical Centre in Woking, which he sees as a showcase of British engineering expertise.

"My own experience of doing things, the McLaren Technical Centre for instance, there is always someone who will come out and say 'it's inconveniencing me'," he said.

"I saw someone on television the other day who said 'it wasn't so dusty where I live as it is now.' Well that's life. The fact is we are a nation that constantly punches above its weight.

"Here we have an opportunity to do something. People who fight to host the Olympic Games are fiercely proud when they achieve it. We seem to be the world's best at turning around and being unconstructively critical."

Dennis also compared the impression that the city of Valencia made in organising its first Grand Prix last weekend favourably with his home country.

"When I go back to England and I go through Heathrow Airport, I'm ashamed to be English.

"Airports represent the gateway to your country, and any politician who is part of running our country should be uncomfortable with the fact there are so many places in the world where you can go and you enter their country and it's an architectural statement, it's well run and has the capacity to look after its people.

"Valencia is a complete contrast. This is an area that is not the gateway to the country, and yet the vision of the local Government to have the America's Cup here, to commit all the resources they did to that to turn it into a world-class venue."