Photo: McLaren on Facebook
The end of an era of bittersweet and illustrious moments. Ron Dennis was instrumental to making McLaren what it is today, both on the Formula 1 scene and on the road. The 70-year-old has had enough, though, thus agreeing to bid farewell to the company he nurtured for almost 37 years.
Dennis, who was born in Woking, studied motor vehicle engineering in his early days. His first contact with the uppermost echelon of motorsport happened in 1966, when Cooper Formula 1 brought him in as a mechanic. Fast-forward to September 1980, and that’s when he joined McLaren. A year later, Ron and his partners bought out the remaining shareholders in the company, therefore gaining complete control over the Formula 1 team.
For a number of reasons, Dennis and the majority shareholders had a falling out in 2016, with the iconic man deciding to step down as the head honcho of McLaren in November 2016. The 70-year-old remained involved with the company thanks to his 25% stake in McLaren, a chunk of shares that he had agreed to sell to the other shareholders of McLaren.
“Now that my time at McLaren has come to an end, I will be able to involve myself in a series of other programs and activities, especially those focused on public service,” he said. “I will continue to indulge my passion for supporting contemporary artists and collecting their work, but most of all I will be driving new ideas and projects forward.”
This state of affairs prompted McLaren Automotive and McLaren Technology Group to fusion into one corporate structure. Christened McLaren Group, the new entity unites the car-making business and the F1 team under a single umbrella.
On that note, McLaren’s higher-ups have faith in the company’s future in Formula 1. Mansour Ojjeh, the executive committee principal, had the following to comment on McLaren-Honda’s disastrous performance of the last few years:
“McLaren Racing, part of McLaren Technology Group, is not currently achieving the on-track success in Formula 1 that we know it is capable of, and that it has achieved in the past, but that will change. As motor racing is in our DNA, we exist to win in Formula 1 and be the best in everything we do."
"Jonathan Neale and Zak Brown, supported by Eric Boullier and the best engineers, mechanics, and marketers in Formula 1, are fully engaged in the process of bringing about that turnaround, and it will be great to see McLaren back in the winners’ circle before too long.”
For a number of reasons, Dennis and the majority shareholders had a falling out in 2016, with the iconic man deciding to step down as the head honcho of McLaren in November 2016. The 70-year-old remained involved with the company thanks to his 25% stake in McLaren, a chunk of shares that he had agreed to sell to the other shareholders of McLaren.
“Now that my time at McLaren has come to an end, I will be able to involve myself in a series of other programs and activities, especially those focused on public service,” he said. “I will continue to indulge my passion for supporting contemporary artists and collecting their work, but most of all I will be driving new ideas and projects forward.”
This state of affairs prompted McLaren Automotive and McLaren Technology Group to fusion into one corporate structure. Christened McLaren Group, the new entity unites the car-making business and the F1 team under a single umbrella.
On that note, McLaren’s higher-ups have faith in the company’s future in Formula 1. Mansour Ojjeh, the executive committee principal, had the following to comment on McLaren-Honda’s disastrous performance of the last few years:
“McLaren Racing, part of McLaren Technology Group, is not currently achieving the on-track success in Formula 1 that we know it is capable of, and that it has achieved in the past, but that will change. As motor racing is in our DNA, we exist to win in Formula 1 and be the best in everything we do."
"Jonathan Neale and Zak Brown, supported by Eric Boullier and the best engineers, mechanics, and marketers in Formula 1, are fully engaged in the process of bringing about that turnaround, and it will be great to see McLaren back in the winners’ circle before too long.”
Google News