Lewis Hamilton's F1 hopes dashed by Dennis
Lewis Hamilton's hopes of becoming the first black Formula 1 driver were hit on Saturday as McLaren boss Ron Dennis opted to stick with Spain's Pedro de la Rosa for the rest of the season.
De la Rosa, who finished an impressive second at the last F1 race in Hungary, took over the McLaren drive from Colombian Juan Pablo Montoya, who left for Nascar.
In Sunday's Turkish Grand Prix in Istanbul, De la Rosa will line-up on the grid for the fourth time this season.
"Definitely Monza and most likely the rest of the season," Dennis said of De la Rosa's prospects as he ruled out promoting GP2 series leader Hamilton too early.
"We are not in the business of developing Grand Prix drivers, we are in the business of winning races.
"We will always put the best available drivers in the cars. The place to develop young drivers is not in the pressure of Grand Prix racing."
British prospect Hamilton (21) has been tipped to partner World Champion Fernando Alonso when he arrives from Renault for next season.
He has had his career overseen and funded by Dennis since he approached the team principal as a 12-year-old kart racer.
Dennis added: "For someone like Lewis we'd want thousands of kilometres of testing under his belt, we'd want to feel very comfortable that he fully understood all of the regulatory processes.
"We don't want to distract him from what he's doing at the moment. We'd love him to win (the GP2 title) but he has nothing more to prove.
"It would be nice for him to win but I don't think it will influence the decision that we will take."
The team want to confirm their 2007 line-up before Christmas.
Current driver Kimi Raikkonen is expected to join Ferrari next season with an announcement due at the Italian Grand Prix at Monza in two weeks time.
Ron Dennis denied rumours that Hamilton had attempted to get his mate Jerome to fit spinners (spinning chrome wheels), a "bitchin' stereo" and tinted windows to a McLaren F1 car whilst at Clinton's mum's house, and then go cruising around Barking trying to pick up schoolgirls.
Lewis Hamilton's hopes of becoming the first black Formula 1 driver were hit on Saturday as McLaren boss Ron Dennis opted to stick with Spain's Pedro de la Rosa for the rest of the season.
De la Rosa, who finished an impressive second at the last F1 race in Hungary, took over the McLaren drive from Colombian Juan Pablo Montoya, who left for Nascar.
In Sunday's Turkish Grand Prix in Istanbul, De la Rosa will line-up on the grid for the fourth time this season.
"Definitely Monza and most likely the rest of the season," Dennis said of De la Rosa's prospects as he ruled out promoting GP2 series leader Hamilton too early.
"We are not in the business of developing Grand Prix drivers, we are in the business of winning races.
"We will always put the best available drivers in the cars. The place to develop young drivers is not in the pressure of Grand Prix racing."
British prospect Hamilton (21) has been tipped to partner World Champion Fernando Alonso when he arrives from Renault for next season.
He has had his career overseen and funded by Dennis since he approached the team principal as a 12-year-old kart racer.
Dennis added: "For someone like Lewis we'd want thousands of kilometres of testing under his belt, we'd want to feel very comfortable that he fully understood all of the regulatory processes.
"We don't want to distract him from what he's doing at the moment. We'd love him to win (the GP2 title) but he has nothing more to prove.
"It would be nice for him to win but I don't think it will influence the decision that we will take."
The team want to confirm their 2007 line-up before Christmas.
Current driver Kimi Raikkonen is expected to join Ferrari next season with an announcement due at the Italian Grand Prix at Monza in two weeks time.
Ron Dennis denied rumours that Hamilton had attempted to get his mate Jerome to fit spinners (spinning chrome wheels), a "bitchin' stereo" and tinted windows to a McLaren F1 car whilst at Clinton's mum's house, and then go cruising around Barking trying to pick up schoolgirls.
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