Ron Dennis in Bahrain pits

A casually-clothed Ron Dennis was spotted in the McLaren garage in Bahrain on Thursday.

The Woking based team’s former team boss, who handed over the role to Martin Whitmarsh last year, said recently he plans to attend “quite a few races” in 2010.

The 62-year-old has since been concentrating on the company’s chairmanship and the establishment of its new road car group.

Following a controversy surrounding its rear wing design, McLaren’s 2010 car passed scrutineering on Thursday, with the FIA’s Charlie Whiting telling the BBC that he has seen the MP4-25 “and I’m entirely happy with it”.

Also happy is Williams’ German rookie Nico Hulkenberg, who hinted that a fifth team could be set to join Red Bull, Ferrari, McLaren and Mercedes near the top of the pecking order.

“At (the) Barcelona (test) I think we were either equal to or slightly ahead of Mercedes,” the 22-year-old told reporters at Sakhir.

And the logos of the technology company HP will be added to Renault’s single seater both this year and next, following the announcement of a “major” sponsorship deal.

© RIF|GMM