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McLaren has to target domination - Dennis

Ron Dennis with Honda boss Yasuhisa Arai © McLaren

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McLaren boss Ron Dennis believes he is not setting his team up for a fall by targeting F1 domination with new engine supplier Honda.

McLaren has undergone a period of restructuring this year, with Honda set to replace Mercedes as its power unit supplier over the winter as well as an overhaul of the leadership and technical staff of the team. Between 1988 and 1991 Honda powered McLaren to a period of domination in the sport with four constructors' titles and Dennis believes the same can be achieved this time round.

"What we achieved then, and what our rivals Mercedes achieved this year, is exactly what our objective is for the future, which is domination," he said. "I remember at the beginning of this season I said that we were here to win races, and that's what our objective for the 2014 season was. You could argue that because we didn't win a race and we are now using the word 'domination' we are setting ourselves up for an almighty fall.

"But of course domination doesn't come necessarily in a short period of time, it takes time. It is what we are about because it's the only thing that sets you aside from people that just win races. Winning races is challenging, but domination is really challenging."

© McLaren

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Dennis is convinced Honda can return McLaren to the top and said his vision was reinforced by a visit to the company's R&D headquarters in Sakura, Tochigi where the new power unit is being developed.

"Very importantly, the key to both the relationship with Honda and the relationship with our drivers is the absolute importance that we place on building a positive relationship. Inevitably, as we respected the long partnership that we had with Mercedes, it took some time before the gelling of the relationship [with Honda] started to take place.

"My visit to Sakura after the Japanese Grand Prix was extremely mindblowing. The commitment, focus and absolute desire to raise the bar is all-present in those facilities and also in the developing attitude of the Honda-McLaren engineers. I feel very confident that as we move forward into next season that we will have a genuine and realistic prospect of achieving our objective."

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