Won the 1982 World Championship winning only one race in the season

Damon Hill...

McLaren boss Ron Dennis has hit out at some of the media coverage that Lewis Hamilton's astonishing debut season has attracted.

Hamilton's success has prompted a surge of British press interest in Formula 1, and a vast array of pundits, former drivers and team owners have given their opinion on the rising rookie and his prospects.

Dennis admitted that he was becoming 'slightly annoyed' by this trend.

"There seems to be a rash of so-called experts, some people who have never really run a competitive grand prix team, who suddenly profess to be so knowledgeable about what is and isn't right for Lewis, what is and isn't his character strengths and his weaknesses," he said.

"I think they should just be quiet, concentrate on their own business, which I'm sure would be better for them.

"I don't want to be too aggressive to those people but they know who they are.

"They're failures in many of the things they've done and this is a success story and their opinions are obviously sought by those members of the media that suffer or struggle with our own position."

He also dismissed reports that Hamilton's speed was causing friction between Lewis and team-mate Fernando Alonso.

"I'm amused at how some magazines have tried to position the team as having conflict in it," said Ron.

"There is absolutely nothing further from the truth, and if you can see the body language, how they compete playing video games, all of these things, you would realise that yes, they are competitive and they want to win, but not to the detriment of the relationship that they have with each other, or the relationship within the team."

Dennis accepted that McLaren had taken steps to control media access to its drivers this year, but said that this was at Hamilton and Alonso's request.

"Don't see this as some heavy-handed McLaren decision," he said.

"It's just not. It is what he wants and it's the same with Fernando.

"They're not any different. They want desperately to try and maintain some degree of privacy in their private lives.

"And I fully appreciate that part of being a professional racing driver is dealing with the media and maybe we should be criticised, but we are doing our best, but not to the detriment of him trying to win races, or Fernando trying to win races."

Qualiy: 1) Alonso 2) Heidfeld 3) Hamilton

Race: 1) Alonso 2) Hamilton 3) Raikkonen

FL: 1:18:467

On the eve of the Monaco Grand Prix, the undisputed jewel in Formula One's glittering crown, British racing legend Stirling Moss has given his verdict on the sport's current Brit pack - and it makes bleak reading if your name happens to be Jenson Button.

The 27-year-old has suffered a torrid start to the new campaign - his worst in eight seasons in the top flight - and this despite his Honda squad entering the year widely-regarded as a dark horse for at least race victories, and potentially even the championship.

Not only has that failed to materialise - with a best qualifying position of 14th in Australia and Spain and highest finish of 12th - but Button has also had to endure Lewis Hamilton's sensational arrival in Formula One, with the McLaren star having immediately and almost seamlessly stolen the Somerset ace's mantle as top Brit.

There may, Moss warns, be no way back. "I'm afraid, quite honestly, Jenson's time has passed," the 16-time grand prix winner said. "Lewis has now come in and is very dedicated about it all.

"Jenson made a couple of difficult moves under what was probably not the best guidance. I don't know how that all happened, but there's no question the car Jenson has at the moment is not capable of winning."

Moss had rather more positive things to say, however, about fellow Brits David Coulthard and Anthony Davidson, with the former enjoying something of an Indian summer in his career at a resurgent Red Bull Racing, and the latter having finally made his long-awaited and richly-deserved full-time grand prix debut with Super Aguri.

"I think we've got to realise David is never going to win a race again," the 77-year-old said. "That's terribly unlikely, but he is still doing a good job and if he is prepared to settle for that then there's no doubt that car is only going to improve with the talent they've got working on it in the shape of Adrian Newey and so forth.

"I don't see why he shouldn't go on longer. Fangio didn't retire until he was 47, and I certainly had no intention of stopping until I was 50 but I had my bad crash. Otherwise I would have carried on much longer.

"It's unfortunate for Anthony that he has entered in a year when there's this other British guy who has also come in out of the blue - that makes it very difficult for people to be as excited about him as maybe they should be. He is doing a very good job, though, and long may that continue."