Dennis stunned by Lewis

McLaren boss Ron Dennis concedes to being stunned by protege Lewis Hamilton's startling impact on F1 this season. Even Mercedes Motorsport chief Norbert Haug feels Hamilton's rise could be turned into a movie as the story is almost straight from a Hollywood script.

The pressure is mounting on Hamilton as he leads the championship by just two points from McLaren rival Fernando Alonso with three grands prix remaining, starting in Japan on Sunday at the new Fuji Speedway circuit.

A fitting finale would surely see Hamilton become the first rookie in the sport's history to win the World title.

Yet despite that, the 22-year-old Hamilton has even amazed Dennis, who said: "In his first year in Formula One, Lewis has delivered a great deal more than was expected by the vast majority of people.

Faith
"I personally always had faith in him, but I didn't think anyone could climb up the staircase of Formula One so quickly.

"That's surprised everybody, not least myself."

Echoing Dennis' sentiments, Haug added: "Lewis is the perfect example for a movie. He approached Ron 10 years ago, and you all know the story by now.

"He has a huge talent, he is a good, positive guy and technically goes very deep into details.

"Nobody could have expected a newcomer in Formula One to have performed like Lewis has." More at Sky Sports

[Editor's Note: Rumors have it that Hamilton was getting the better car from McLaren until Alonso put his foot down and blew wide open the fact that the team all of a sudden were winning races because they had received all the Ferrari secrets in the Stepneygate affair. Since Alonso put his foot down and demanded equal treatment he has smoked Hamilton consistently.]