He may not even have made his Formula One race debut yet, but Lewis Hamilton could already be set to lose the man most pivotal in his promotion to the top flight.

Rumours have been swirling around for some time that McLaren team principal Ron Dennis is seriously considering selling his 60 per cent, £250m stake in the outfit and handing over the reins to someone else, most likely engine supplier Mercedes-Benz or McLaren shareholder Mansour Ojjeh. With thoughts now turned towards the new season, although nothing has so far been substantiated, the noises refuse to go away.

“If an opportunity presents itself and can make McLaren better, it is supported by its management and I embrace it,” the 59-year-old told British newspaper The People. “But I would never endorse a simple exit strategy. We have some really exciting programmes outside our Formula One team and want the company to grow.”

Where this leaves Hamilton is unclear, but what it would almost certainly mean is the man who has acted as his mentor as he has risen up through the ranks would no longer be in full control, at least not in the long term.

Meanwhile, McLaren's new pairing have been displaying their potential in testing at Jerez, with Hamilton even topping the timesheets last week ahead of Giancarlo Fisichella. Alonso also drove his first laps in one of the silver machines, after his former Renault team lifted its ban on him not sitting in a McLaren until the New Year.

“I'm pleased that I was able to drive my new McLaren car earlier than expected and would like to thank Renault and Flavio Briatore for agreeing to this,” Alonso said.

Former Formula One team owner Eddie Jordan believes whatever happens, McLaren has an undisputed star of the future on its hands in 21-year-old GP2 winner Hamilton.

“At last Ron has seen sense and given a rookie a chance,” the Irishman told The People. “What Ron has done marks a unique moment in his history at McLaren and it is brilliant.

“You have to go back to 1980 to find McLaren's last Formula One rookie – Alain Prost – and that was the year before Ron's first season in charge.

“Dennis believes in experience first and has always played it safe and to be fair it has paid off. Now he has not only picked his first rookie, but is raising him alongside another new member to the team in Alonso.”