EXCLUSIVE: Raging McLaren chief Dennis snubbed Hamilton's goodbye party

Lewis Hamilton goes into his final race for McLaren this weekend under a cloud, having twice been snubbed in the last week by the man who brought him into Formula One.

Ahead of Sunday’s Brazilian Grand Prix, Sportsmail can reveal that McLaren chairman Ron Dennis was the only notable absentee from Hamilton’s leaving function on the pool terrace of the Hilton hotel in Austin, Texas, last Saturday.

Hamilton and team principal Martin Whitmarsh both made impressive speeches, with the departing driver reducing some of the catering staff to tears when he said he carries the team with him in the cockpit. But Dennis instead chose to attend what a team spokesman described as ‘an important cocktail reception hosted by Exxon Mobil executives at which he was guest of honour’.

No show: McLaren chairman Ron Dennis (left) snubbed the departing driver Lewis Hamilton's farewell do



Then, after Hamilton won the US Grand Prix the following day with one of the finest performances of his career, a stony-faced Dennis refused to join the rest of the team in wearing their usual Vodafone rocket-red victory T-shirts.

He has worn the shirt on other occasions, though he failed to do so after Hamilton’s previous win in September’s Italian Grand Prix.

Dennis, a prickly character yet a fastidious manager who has never been inclined to indulge a driver’s ego, has decided not to travel to Sao Paulo for Hamilton’s farewell race.

The latest developments reveal how sour relations between Dennis and Hamilton have become. At the centre of the fall-out is a row that is so serious that senior figures at McLaren have closed ranks to keep the matter secret.

It is understood the incident, probably dating back to the summer when Hamilton’s representatives were negotiating his future, may be embarrassing for Dennis if details emerge.

A senior figure within Formula One, who asked not to be named, said: ‘I do know what has happened. Everyone makes mistakes and Ron made a mistake. Everything went pear-shaped and I don’t think it would be fair to say any more than that.’

Still friends: Martin Whitmarsh and Lewis Hamilton's relationship is still strong despite Hamilton leaving

There remains great mutual affection between Hamilton and many McLaren staff. In particular, Hamilton’s relations with Whitmarsh remain strong despite the 27-year-old’s decision to move to Mercedes.

It is specifically with Dennis that the bonds have broken. As has been the case with almost all previous McLaren drivers except Mika Hakkinen, Hamilton has found Dennis’s dictatorial approach too much to bear.

What makes this disagreement more poignant is the extent of the pair’s long and emotional ties. It was as a 10-year-old that Hamilton first met Dennis at the Autosport awards ceremony, asking for his autograph and telling him: ‘Hi, I am Lewis Hamilton. I won the British Karting Championship and one day I want to race your cars.’

Working it out: A McLaren spokesperson said Ron and Lewis would meet socially in the near future

Dennis wrote in the autograph book: ‘Phone me in nine years and we’ll sort something out then.’

In fact, Hamilton signed a contract aged 12 that led to him earning the Formula One drive in 2007.



Dennis, citing My Fair Lady, cast himself as Professor Henry Higgins to Hamilton’s Eliza Doolittle. Despite that, Hamilton, and his father Anthony, increasingly found Dennis’s controlling manner suffocating. Hamilton’s new management team, XIX, also found Dennis unhelpful in their contract negotiations.

Dennis, in turn, was infuriated by the 2008 world champion courting controversy with his erratic behaviour, such as posting team telemetry on Twitter in August.

Despite the friction, a McLaren spokesman added: ‘Ron and Lewis plan to get together socially in the near future, as they’ve both said a number of times recently.’