JUNE 9, 2001

Dennis denies threatening behavior

RON DENNIS has said that neither he nor Norbert Haug threatened Enrique Bernoldi at the Monaco Grand Prix despite reports to the contrary, although he did admit that they had approached the driver after he held up their man David Coulthard.

RON DENNIS has said that neither he nor Norbert Haug threatened Enrique Bernoldi at the Monaco Grand Prix despite reports to the contrary, although he did admit that they had approached the driver after he held up their man David Coulthard.

Coulthard had started from the back of the grid after stalling on the parade lap, and although Bernoldi was perfectly within his racing right to hold off the place, Dennis believed the Brazilian's actions, which meant Coulthard could not get past Bernoldi until the mid-race pit stops, were unfair.

Dennis said he felt that both Monaco and Hungary were special cases on the race calendar where it was impossible to overtake and therefore unsporting for any driver to hold up another faster driver.

But he claimed that when he and Haug confronted Bernoldi "we were not intimidating or angry. We only said that we did not think his was a sporting drive."

He also denied using bad language, and said that a flag made up of black and white diagonals used to indicate unsporting driving was not used properly in Monte Carlo by the stewards and marshals.

However, Dennis also noted that the important advertising figures showed Arrows had 40 percent of the television coverage at the Monaco Grand Prix - the most of any team - all because Bernoldi was the focus of attention.

It has been suggested that Dennis and Haug are to be investigated by the FIA over the incident, but the sport's governing body was unable to comment on the situation.