McLaren still focussed on winning title

The McLaren team are still focussed on winning the 2012 Formula One World Championship.

The Woking-based team have been rocked over the past couple of weeks. Beginning with Lewis Hamilton retiring from a comfortable lead in the Singapore Grand Prix, to the Brit then announcing he was leaving McLaren to sign a three-year-deal with rivals Mercedes.

Hamilton now sits fourth in the title picture, 52-points behind championship leader Fernando Alonso.

McLaren team-mate Jenson Button is a further 23-points behind in sixth place.

In the constructors championship, McLaren are second in the table 36-points behind Red Bull.

But despite the announcement that Lewis Hamilton would be leaving the team, McLaren insist that the Brit will continue to have the support of the team in his bid to win a second world championship.

'We have a competitive car at the minute and we have six races left. We can win all of those six races and in my view we can win the Championship. So starting next week in Japan we will be focussing on that. Whitmarsh told Sky Sports.

'Lewis is a great racing driver and massively competitive. He knows there are races to win and races he wants to win himself. So we will be working hard to do that.'

The problem when a driver opts to leave a team and sign up with a rival part-way through a season is the thought there is now an 'enemy within'.

Development for next season has already begun and now Hamilton will be leaving the team with plenty of knowledge on what McLaren are planning for next season.

There will also be further development schedules, so do McLaren hamper their work load by cutting Hamilton out of the loop, or do they include him, knowing full well that he could eventually pass on this information to his new team?

'I know Lewis well, I trust and respect him and he trusts and respects the team, that is not something that goes through my mind at all.' Whitmarsh concluded.