Ron Dennis Ends 37-year Relationship With McLaren

by Matt Posky

Published: July 2nd, 2017

ron dennis ends 37 year relationship with mclaren

British automotive magnate and principal of McLaren’s Formula One team for all the years that really matter, Ron Dennis, has cut his remaining ties with the company he is so synonymous with.

Having helped lead the F1 team to victory since the 1980s with legendary drivers like Niki Lauda, Alain Prost, Ayrton Senna, Mika Häkkinen, and Lewis Hamilton — while also serving as CEO, chairman, and founder of McLaren Technology Group — it was almost unfathomable to see him removed from his position as head of the company last year. However, we assumed he’d be sticking around on the board for a while.

That hasn’t turned out to be the case. Dennis is selling his remaining stock to Mumtalakat, the Bahrain sovereign investment group, and the French-Saudi entrepreneur Mansour Ojjeh for an estimated £275 million ($362 million).

Ojjeh and Dennis’ relationship has frequently been cited as the primary reason for his ousting as CEO. While the extent of their distaste for one another is unknown, Dennis was effectively forced out in late 2016 after having failed to build up a majority shareholding to regain control of the company he founded. Dennis was also faulted with having brokered the deal for the lackluster Honda engines found in the F1 cars.

McLaren is seeking a way out the Honda deal for the next season, hoping to get back into bed with Mercedes-Benz.

While Dennis is infamous for allegations that the McLaren Formula One team passed confidential technical information from the Ferrari team and notorious for his generally bullish behavior, it’s tragic to see a motorsport icon leave the industry. Dennis says he’ll be pursuing other interests. He remains the official British business ambassador for the United Kingdom and an advisor to the Ministry of Defense.

[Source: BBC News] [Image: Stuart Seeger/ Flickr ( CC BY 2.0)]

#AutomotiveIndustry #F1 #FormulaOne #HiringsAndFirings #Mclaren #Motosport #RonDennis

Matt Posky

A staunch consumer advocate tracking industry trends and regulation. Before joining TTAC, Matt spent a decade working for marketing and research firms based in NYC. Clients included several of the world’s largest automakers, global tire brands, and aftermarket part suppliers. Dissatisfied with the corporate world and resentful of having to wear suits everyday, he pivoted to writing about cars. Since then, that man has become an ardent supporter of the right-to-repair movement, been interviewed on the auto industry by national radio broadcasts, driven more rental cars than anyone ever should, participated in amateur rallying events, and received the requisite minimum training as sanctioned by the SCCA. Handy with a wrench, Matt grew up surrounded by Detroit auto workers and managed to get a pizza delivery job before he was legally eligible. He later found himself driving box trucks through Manhattan, guaranteeing future sympathy for actual truckers. He continues to conduct research pertaining to the automotive sector as an independent contractor and has since moved back to his native Michigan, closer to where the cars are born. A contrarian, Matt claims to prefer understeer — stating that front and all-wheel drive vehicles cater best to his driving style.

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4 comments

Jacob on Jul 03, 2017

It's an end of an era. I suspect it's also the end of McLaren as a top Formula 1 team. They stopped being a player from 2013 until now.

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- TonyJZX on Jul 03, 2017
  
  I think in that industry, results come from top down all things being equal. Dennis seemed to be a perfectionist almost a tyrant, demanding exacting standards. You can see how in certain F1 teams (and in other racing formats) the team principal, director of technology etc. are singular personalities. Unless McLaren gets someone like Dennis and Honda gets someone like legendary Osamu Goto then McLaren is another Williams. Lost glory.
  
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Threeer on Jul 03, 2017

I guess that's 362 million solid reasons to walk away...

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- Speedlaw on Jul 03, 2017
  
  Time to sail the world, or just chill out at your beach house of choice.
  
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