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McLaren Group Reshuffled in The Wake of Renault-powered Formula 1 Debacle

After three disappointing seasons with Honda as the engine supplier, McLaren signed with Renault for the 2018 Formula 1 World Championship. But Toro Rosso has the last laugh, as the Faenza-based team performs spectacularly with Honda’s turbocharged V6. Adding insult to injury, Toro Rosso is gaining ground in the constructors' standings with rookies in the driver lineup, not the seasoned Alonso.
McLaren MCL33 Renault-powered Formula 1 car 12 photos
Photo: McLaren on Facebook
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Even though McLaren is ahead in terms of points (22 after two Grand Prix weekends), the higher-ups decided to shake things up after the Bahrain GP. Alonso finished seventh and Vandoorne eighth, with the highlight being that the one-lap gap between the McLaren drivers and the Renault-powered Nico Hulkenberg on sixth.

So what did the head honchos do to McLaren as a result of these depressing results? Restructure the entire group, of course! Mike Flewitt continues to serve as chief executive officer of the automotive division, but Zak Brown is now the boss of the racing department. Previously, the Los Angeles native served as executive director.

Looking back to when Ron Dennis was ousted from his position for Zak Brown, it’s hard not to question the decision made by the higher-ups. But better late than never, Brown is now the CEO of and McLaren has high hopes from this point on.

Eric Boullier remains in place as racing director, and so does chief marketing officer John Albert. With this restructuring, Brown and Flewitt report to Sheik Mohammed bin Essa Al Khalifa and Mansour Ojjeh, heads of the Mumtalakat Holding Company and TAG Group. Last, but certainly not least, Jonathan Neale will hold the position of chief operating officer of the restructured McLaren Group.

"The work of the past year at a corporate level has been focused on structuring and positioning McLaren for growth,” declared Shaik Mohammed. “These latest developments are a natural consequence of that work and are designed to bring greater simplicity and clarity to the structure and leadership of the group.”

The last pole position and race win for McLaren happened in November 2012 (with the Mercedes-AMG 2.4-liter V8) at the Brazilian Grand Prix. As for the last podium, make that the 2014 Australian Grand Prix.
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About the author: Mircea Panait
Mircea Panait profile photo

After a 1:43 scale model of a Ferrari 250 GTO sparked Mircea's interest for cars when he was a kid, an early internship at Top Gear sealed his career path. He's most interested in muscle cars and American trucks, but he takes a passing interest in quirky kei cars as well.
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