Dennis determined to carry on

PARIS, France -- Ron Dennis insists that he will not stand down as head of embattled Formula One team McLaren despite being found guilty in the "spygate" saga.

The Britain-based outfit, who lead the world championship, have been stripped of all constructors' points this season and fined a record $100 million by the FIA over leaked documents from rivals Ferrari.

However, rookie driver Lewis Hamilton and defending world champion Fernando Alonso, who hold the top two places in the overall standings, will be allowed to keep their points.

The sport's ruling body was due to publish the reasons for the punishments on Friday, after which McLaren were expected to announce an appeal.

The 60-year-old Dennis has vowed to continue in his role as McLaren boss.

"My personal future was never in question as far as I was concerned," he told the UK Press Association.

"I am very committed to this company, very passionate about motor racing and I have absolutely no intention of retiring, save for the fact I made a firm commitment to Martyn (Whitmarsh) for him to succeed me as CEO.

"That decision, whenever it is taken, will not have a bearing on this affair, or any other issue of this year."

Dennis still insists that McLaren gained no advantage from the leaked information, which included a 780-page technical dossier on Ferrari cars found at the home of McLaren's chief designer Mike Coughlan.

"We are firmly of the opinion that we do not concur with the FIA findings," Dennis told PA. "I do not accept that we deserve to be penalized or our reputation damaged in this way.

"The evidence was primarily e-mail traffic between our drivers, and in one instance, Mike Coughlan. Much has been made in the press and at the hearing of e-mails and text messages to and from our drivers.

"The World Motor Sport Council received statements from Fernando Alonso, Lewis Hamilton and Pedro de la Rosa stating categorically no Ferrari information had been used by McLaren, and that no confidential data had been passed to the team.

"Of course, the team had no knowledge of this e-mail traffic at any stage. The evidence given to the FIA by our drivers, engineers and staff clearly demonstrated that we did not use any leaked information to gain a competitive advantage.

"The entire engineering team, in excess of 140 people, provided statements to the FIA affirming they had never received or used the Ferrari information.

"We have never denied that the information from Ferrari was in the personal possession of one of our employees at his home. The issue is: was this information used by McLaren? This is not the case and has not been proven." E-mail to a friend

All About Ron Dennis