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McLaren expect more dominance in Hungary

McLaren boss Ron Dennis has warned rivals Ferrari to expect a repeat of his team's domination of the German Grand Prix at the Hungaroring in a fortnight's time

Lewis Hamilton was in a class of his own at Hockenheim, despite being forced to stage a fightback through the field after a strategy gamble by his team went wrong.

And with the Briton's pace forcing Kimi Raikkonen to concede that he believes McLaren are now ahead of Ferrari, Dennis is predicting more of the same at the Hungaroring next month.

"I can't see that we'll be any less strong in Hungary," said a delighted Dennis after seeing Hamilton extend his lead in the drivers' world championship. "And the car will look a bit different there, so we'll see."

McLaren are expected to introduce a range of aerodynamic and mechanical updates to their car for the Hungary race - which could include their shark fin engine cover that is set to be tested again at Jerez this week.

Dennis has also dismissed any suggestion that Hamilton was slightly annoyed by the team's decision not to refuel him under the safety car in Germany, which forced him to stage his fightback through the field.

"No, you heard him on the radio," said Dennis. "We were laughing. At the end of the day we are a racing team. In Canada we all took responsibility. We take responsibility for each other's actions and that is being a team. You can't be perfect all the time, but you try hard."

The trip to Hungary also marks a return to the scene of McLaren's troubles there in 2007 - when the qualifying row between Fernando Alonso and Hamilton sparked the beginning of a troubled few weeks for the team.

Dennis says he has no worries of a repeat situation occurring this year between his drivers - especially judging by the way Kovalainen readily moved aside to aide Hamilton's recovery in Germany.

"I think you can see that there is harmony. Sure if you spoke to Heikki immediately after the race he wouldn't have been too cheerful, but he knows he didn't have a particularly good race.

"But if you spoke to him later he was completely comfortable and understands that he has got to raise his game from where he was.

"He has been qualifying very well, he has good race pace most of the time, but he has struggled sometimes a little bit with the balance of the car. He has done a good job though."

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