The first man to congratulate Heikki Kovalainen after he came through a chaotic Hungarian Grand Prix to seal his maiden victory, was, fittingly McLaren Team Principal Ron Dennis.

The Finn was gifted the race win after Felipe Massa’s engine let loose with three laps remaining.

Ron Dennis has rubbished Fernando Alonso’s claims that he would have been denied the chance to win the world championship had he stayed at McLaren this year.

Alonso left the Woking squad at the end of the year after his very public fall-out over perceived driver favouritism and the team’s involvement in the spy scandal.

The thorny matter of team orders is in the spotlight again, with McLaren denying that Kovalainen is being earmarked for a support role in the team.

“Speak softly and carry a big stick; you will go far,” was the advice of Theodore Roosevelt. McLaren’s Heikki Kovalainen, one of the most affable and congenial drivers in the paddock, embodies this wisdom in abundance.