The Woking based team had been official partners of Mercedes-Benz ever since October 1994 – the actual engine supply started in 1995 – but the two companies split at the end of last year. The Germans hinted that it was them who wanted it to happen, pointing at McLaren's independent project with the MP4-12C, as they immediately switched support to the title winning outfit Brawn GP.
Talking to the Arabian Business magazine, Dennis begged to differ, while insisting that the move made by McLaren is quite legitimate given the fact that they'll still benefit from Mercedes powerplants until 2015, while enjoying full independence in their future projects.
“They continuously over the years wanted to have control of McLaren and we continuously told them we did not want them to have control of McLaren,” said Dennis.
“The more they wanted it, the less we wanted to give it to them. Because you look at what happens... the influence they (car manufacturers) control is not always productive. CEOs change overnight. I have got 30-odd years of my life in this company, huge quantities of friends and people who have been through thick and thin with me, and I made it very clear to Mercedes-Benz, as did the other shareholders, that we are not for sale. They hankered always.”
“We initiated it, we wanted to be independent. This wasn't something which we weren't party to. I mean engine supply to Brawn in 2008 (for the 2009 season) required our consent.”
“They got exactly what they wanted: a grand prix team they had complete control over – and we had continuous engine supply and the ability to promote our product and build the McLaren brand. It was just a win-win situation. In the end, obviously, when we all realized this was going to happen, it was all very logical,” concluded the former McLaren-Mercedes F1 boss.
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