Lewis Hamilton 'not Disappointed' By Ron Dennis's Departure

Lewis Hamilton said today that he was "surprised but not disappointed" by Ron Dennis's departure from McLaren's formula one team.

Dennis nurtured Hamilton in his rise to winning last year's world championship, signing him as a 13-year-old for McLaren. Although Hamilton said that the former team principal remained a central figure in his life, he admitted he was far from shocked by this week's developments.

The move by Dennis, which he said was of his own volition, comes after tension is believed to have developed between him and Hamilton's father, Anthony, after Hamilton's alleged withholding of the truth during stewards' inquiries into the opening round of this season in Australia came to light.

Hamilton has said he was ordered by his team to lie and McLaren have been called before the FIA world motor sport council on 29 April to explain their alleged deceitful actions. Martin Whitmarsh, the team principal, has acknowledged that McLaren need to rebuild their relationship with the sport's governing body, with whom Dennis frequently clashed.

"That's nothing to do with me," said Hamilton. "I'm here to race and I have to focus on doing my job. What the team decides is up to them. You should speak to them. I wasn't disappointed [about Dennis]. I was surprised, but I had not heard about it. I was just as surprised as the rest of my team.

"Ron has been a huge force and support in my life, and he still plays a key role in my life. Whether or not he is in the team, I think you guys have been writing about it for years that as soon as he gets to a certain stage he will move aside. I don't know why he decided to do it now."

Hamilton had been fastest overall in morning practice here for the Chinese grand prix but, after slipping to 13th in the afternoon, he played down the benefit of a new nose wing and floor on his McLaren-Mercedes.

"We've made some small steps forward and the team, back at the factory, have been working very hard. But we still have a long way to go," said Hamilton. "I think we started [making modifications] at our first race, and we are continuing from there. I don't feel there is any new start or anything. We are continuously working on the car to improve it – it just takes a long time. Today was a slight step forward but we have got a lot more to do."

More upbeat was Jenson Button, who was fastest in practice but was concerned about the continuing competitiveness of Williams. Nico Rosberg's Williams split the Brawn drivers and demoted Button's team-mate, Rubens Barrichello, to third place.

"We improved the car throughout the day," said Button. "We completed a great deal of work with the different types of tyre to establish what condition they would be in after long runs. It was a useful first day of running but it's very competitive at the front." Just over half a second covered the first six drivers as the Red Bulls of Mark Webber and Sebastian Vettel eased ahead of Jarno Trulli's Toyota.

Of the leading half dozen, only the Red Bull drivers are without the double diffuser which was ruled legal this week and rivals now have no alternative but to copy. McLaren had the beginnings of modifications ready for overnight shipment to China.

McLaren had a positive day at the track compared to their former rival, Ferrari, as Felipe Massa and Kimi Raikkonen struggled to make their tyres last and could do no better than set 12th and 14th fastest times respectively.

"We are too slow compared to the teams currently at the top of the order," said Raikkonen. "We must try and improve the car. At the moment, we are not able to fight for the title. It's not an easy time, but our group is strong and we know what needs to be done to get out of this situation."