Jan.17 (GMM) McLaren boss Ron Dennis played down the controversy surrounding the introduction of standard electronics in formula one this year.

While competitors including Renault, Ferrari and BMW grumble about the initial advantage enjoyed by McLaren in 2008 by owning the company that developed the new ECU, Dennis pointed out that all manufacturers had been invited by the FIA to tender for the deal.

It was announced in July 2006, long before the espionage scandal of last year broke out, that the collaboration of Microsoft and McLaren Electronic Systems, based at the McLaren factory in Woking, had been awarded the contract to supply the entire field with ECUs between 2008 and 2010.

The British news agency Reuters also points out that, while unhappy that Ferrari's top F1 rival is his new electronics supplier, boss Jean Todt admits that the FIA's tendering process had been fair and open "and we just have to accept it".