Tuesday March 27th, 2001
McLaren boss Ron Dennis issued a rallying cry before this weekend's Brazilian Grand Prix as he declared his team will quickly bounce back from a disappointing start to the season.
Ferrari have outpaced the silver McLaren cars in the first two races to leave them 19 points down in the championship race, but the drop in form is not that significant to Dennis.
"We haven't sunk deep," declared Dennis. "We'll soon be back where people expect to see us - at the top.
"Anyone who is thinking of writing us off are burning their bridges too early," he continued.
Last year, McLaren were 26 points behind Ferrari at this stage of the championship, but then their drivers Mika Hakkinen and David Coulthard had been the fastest pair in qualifying for both events.
This season, however, the team have been clearly off the pace and Dennis does not make any attempt to deny that fact.
"We had the very best car right from the beginning of the season for three great years," he said of McLaren's past dominance. "Now we only have a good one."
But the British team is confident of a return to form after the Brazilian Grand Prix when a return to Europe will allow more testing to improve their development rate.