LONDON, Jan 8, 2008 (AFP) - McLaren-Mercedes boss Ron Dennis is set to lower his profile at the Formula One team as the German constructor looks to increase its stake, the Guardian newspaper claimed on Tuesday.

Dennis worked his way up from a mechanic to found the British-based team in 1980 and it quickly became one of the top outfits, with Niki Lauda, Alain Prost and Ayrton Senna all winning world titles with McLaren.

In 1999, Mercedes became the major shareholder with 40 percent of the stake. A Bahraini financial group owns 30 percent while Dennis and his associate Mansour Ojjeh share the rest.

The 60-year-old Dennis saw his authority tarnished by the spying row with Ferrari, bringing about McLaren's exclusion from the 2007 constructors' championship.

The unveiling of the new car, the MP4-23, at Stuttgart, Germany, on Monday, and not in Britain, has in some quarters been seen as a sign of a likely increase in influence by the German company and a step back by Dennis.

According to the Guardian, should Dennis lower his profile, his right hand man, Martin Whitmarsh, would be the best-placed to succeed him as the boss of the team. A McLaren spokesman said however that there was no expected announcement on the matter.