McLaren-Mercedes' Norbert Haug has admitted that the team has all but lost the F1 Driver’s Championship this season.
Speaking to the press in a conference call on Tuesday, Haug discussed prospects for the upcoming season and took a realistic look at the champions' performance so far this year.
"It would be bizarre to speak of defending our title. Why should we think about it when we are not competitive?"
McLaren won the 2008 Driver's Championship thanks to Briton Lewis Hamilton, and were close challengers for the Constructor's title as well, finally finishing second.
Contrastingly, this season they have been well off the pace, notching up a pitiful 13 points from the first six races, in a season completely dominated by Brawn GP (86 points).
Despite the fact that 11 races remain this season, Haug has written off the chances of his team to recapture last season's glory.
However, he remained positive about McLaren's chances next year, saying that he sees the team as race-winning contenders "when the catch-up process is completed."
The motorsport executive also admitted that he hopes to see a satisfactory compromise to the budget-cap dispute that has rocked the sport.
"We can only talk about an agreement when everything has been settled", he cautioned, but said he hoped to see the 10 teams from this year back on the 2010 roster when it is announced on June 12th.
Haug also expressed his fears about the 6 potential new teams that have applied for an F1 license, sharing doubts that they would match up to the required standards.
Haug added that Mercedes, who also provide engines for Brawn and Force India, are ready in principle to help new teams, but not at all costs.
"Formula One is not a charity, this must be clear," he said.
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