Farewell Ron Dennis?

Calibre11
Posts
7,123
Likes
15,100
Plenty of rumours going around that Ron Dennis will be kicked out of his job at McLaren from early next week. It appears as though the Board has already told him that his contract won't be renewed for next year, and because he is trying to organise a sale of McLaren in the next few weeks to get new owners in ahead of that deadline, they want him out now. He lost a High Court appeal on Friday to stop the other shareholders from acting against him.

Ron is unique and quirky- but he is one of my most admired figures in Formula 1 and sport in general What he achieved with the McLaren team is incredible. He then took these exacting standards from the sport to build a series of great roadcars. He used to get all the best drivers and all the best sponsors and partners, including Honda and Mercedes-Benz.

The last couple of years have been harder, and McLaren has been without a title sponsor for a couple of years and the engine deal with Honda has yet to show success. So is it time for him to go? Yes, I'd say it probably is- but that is not to undermine the enormous contribution and success that he has enjoyed.

Maybe there will be another twist in the tail of this saga, but it does look like the end for one of Formula 1's great figures
 
WernerBoeinck
Posts
506
Likes
369
Calibre11 Calibre11
Plenty of rumours going around that Ron Dennis will be kicked out of his job at McLaren from early next week. It appears as though the Board has already told him that his contract won't be renewed for next year, and because he is trying to organise a sale of McLaren in the next few weeks to get new owners in ahead of that deadline, they want him out now. He lost a High Court appeal on Friday to stop the other shareholders from acting against him.

Ron is unique and quirky- but he is one of my most admired figures in Formula 1 and sport in general What he achieved with the McLaren team is incredible. He then took these exacting standards from the sport to build a series of great roadcars. He used to get all the best drivers and all the best sponsors and partners, including Honda and Mercedes-Benz.

The last couple of years have been harder, and McLaren has been without a title sponsor for a couple of years and the engine deal with Honda has yet to show success. So is it time for him to go? Yes, I'd say it probably is- but that is not to undermine the enormous contribution and success that he has enjoyed.

Maybe there will be another twist in the tail of this saga, but it does look like the end for one of Formula 1's great figures

If I remember correctly, several years ago Ron Dennis worked as a mechanic in the team of Jack Brabham. Since then, the "Garagisti"
developped quite well. From a mechanic to the management of McLaren is what I call a career. I'm afraid his situation is more than
difficult, but I would have wished him a more friendly end with McLaren.
 
dsio
Posts
30,629
Likes
36,138
Its quite sad as I really do think next year could be an amazing one for McLaren Honda, Hasegawa san seems confident as does Alonso that the 2017 engine will be on par with Mercedes and Peter Prod believes he can match or better the Mercedes chassis, I actually have a suspicion that Ferrari will be nowhere, Mercedes will have lost a bit and RedBull could be the leader challenged mainly by Mclaren.
 
Hubert
Posts
10,261
Likes
11,550
Amazing career, with an abrupt end. Maybe he will be offered another high-profile position on another team or company.
 
Calibre11
Posts
7,123
Likes
15,100
Hubert Hubert
Amazing career, with an abrupt end. Maybe he will be offered another high-profile position on another team or company.
I don't see it. Maybe a role in Formula 1 itself, but I couldn't see Dennis working for another team as he'll still be a 25% shareholder in McLaren
 
Hubert
Posts
10,261
Likes
11,550
Calibre11 Calibre11
I don't see it. Maybe a role in Formula 1 itself, but I couldn't see Dennis working for another team as he'll still be a 25% shareholder in McLaren
Good point. We'll see soon enough.
 
albertoct
Posts
86
Likes
31
Hard to believe that he will keep the shares and his seat in the board.
Newspapers report that the successor could be Zak Brown: it is a bit sad for a motorsports fan if a "mechanic" is replaced by a "marketing guru"...
 
Mr_Orange
Posts
3,255
Likes
2,317
Wow. I see parallels in this story to the way Jack Heuer lost his company. Although at least Ron Dennis will retain his shareholding.
 
Calibre11
Posts
7,123
Likes
15,100
Mr_Orange Mr_Orange
Wow. I see parallels in this story to the way Jack Heuer lost his company. Although at least Ron Dennis will retain his shareholding.

Yes, I hadn't thought of that, but there are some similarities.

I suspect that Ron would be a tough man to work for, but the type of guy who would get the best out of you. The bottom line is that McLaren hasn't won regular races/ championships for at least 10 years, and has been without a major sponsor for some time. Things had to change.
 
WernerBoeinck
Posts
506
Likes
369
Calibre11 Calibre11
Yes, I hadn't thought of that, but there are some similarities.

I suspect that Ron would be a tough man to work for, but the type of guy who would get the best out of you. The bottom line is that McLaren hasn't won regular races/ championships for at least 10 years, and has been without a major sponsor for some time. Things had to change.

Zak Brown joins McLaren!
 
dsio
Posts
30,629
Likes
36,138
He'll definitely get to work solving the title sponsorship drought they've had
 
Calibre11
Posts
7,123
Likes
15,100
dsio dsio
He'll definitely get to work solving the title sponsorship drought they've had

It's not the sort of job I'd take on unless I already had a sponsor in my pocket!
 
Sign up or log in to reply...

Similar threads

Calibre11

Ron Dennis to take over Manor?

Calibre11 The Garage
Calibre11
Calibre11
Posts
7
Views
2K