By Mark Glendenning and Biranit Goren Monday, August 6th 2007, 09:08 GMT
McLaren CEO Ron Dennis has admitted he is looking forward to going on vacation this month, after emerging from one of the most difficult weekends of his Formula One career.
Dennis looked downbeat and tired after the Hungarian Grand Prix, despite Lewis Hamilton's dominant win.
And he admitted the weekend, which saw relationships inside McLaren implode, has taken its toll on him personally as well as on the team.
"I am completely drained of emotion," Dennis said on Sunday night, "and extremely pleased that I will be taking some holiday, and most of the things that will unfold over the next few days will be in the hands of [McLaren F1 CEO] Martin Whitmarsh.
"We will allow the temperature to go out of the team, and we will address these issues between now and Turkey.
"A team is not just a word - it's a way of life. We're a close-knit family with some difficult times behind us and some difficult times ahead of us. We will stay together and stay true to our values."
He also wryly added that, at his age, the difficulties are not as rewarding.
"My job is to calm the team, and be leader with my colleagues and try to emerge from this very difficult series of problems stronger - stronger as a team and stronger as an individual," Dennis said.
"When you go through age 30 to 60, you very often get the expression 'character building'. But I can tell you at 60 years old, I don't need my character building any more."
