Comments on: Why it was time for Ron Dennis to stop

By: Mike Ellison

Mike Ellison — Mon, 19 Jan 2009 13:39:29 +0000

I’m sorry to see Ron go but I’ll not be surprised to see him back at work on the 1st March. We see that from so many people of that personality type. I too worry that although Martin is a great wing-man, I’m not sure he’s got the spark to be a great team boss. Hopefully Ron will give him the chance to show us what he’s got.

On the subject of Alonso, I remember Ron telling us how good he was at managing Latin drivers when Montoya joined them and we saw how well that went. No surprise he failed similarly spectacularly at managing Alonso. He should have been on his guard after Alonso’s behaviour the previous year at Renault. It’s interesting that Alonso behaved himself so much better last year on his return to Renault – I can’t remember a single paranoid outburst in 2008.

By: Jamie Giles

Jamie Giles — Sat, 17 Jan 2009 18:30:38 +0000

Never laughed so much! Thank you for that comment jose

Heard it all now! My bet is for the queen to buy the team and take rubens seat for next year!

By: F1: Dennis hands McLaren reins over to Whitmarsh | Brits on Pole

F1: Dennis hands McLaren reins over to Whitmarsh | Brits on Pole — Sat, 17 Jan 2009 13:50:30 +0000

[...] James Allen: Why it was time for Ron Dennis to stop [...]

By: jose

jose — Sat, 17 Jan 2009 09:46:05 +0000

Nobody is talking about the possibility of dennis buying honda. Maybe i am crazy, but all of a sudden mercedes will give the engines, no dead line, they are just waiting for sponsorship to be found , dennis steps down, ferrari gets out of the picture, and if this happens, mercedes will take full control of mclaren, and ron dennis sure would go to some races.
Is not like starting from zero, and would have ross brown under contract, away from ferrari and alonso in the future. He is 61, still young to keep going for a while.

By: F1 links: F1 Fanatic P7 — F1 Fanatic - The Formula 1 Blog | F1 news, cars, drivers and more

Sat, 17 Jan 2009 09:07:58 +0000

[...] Why it was time for Ron Dennis to stop [...]

By: David

David — Sat, 17 Jan 2009 08:31:35 +0000

Interesting to read that Ron Dennis is not leaving McLaren altogether and will still attend all the races. If he is still on the pit wall on occasion will he really be able to resist the opportunity to “take over”? Better surely that he stays back at Woking on race weekends.

By: Links for 16 January 2009 « vee8 - a Formula 1 blog

Links for 16 January 2009 « vee8 - a Formula 1 blog — Sat, 17 Jan 2009 04:03:04 +0000

[...] Why it was time for Ron Dennis to stop – James Allen’s Grand Prix Diary"As Ron said, [he and Martin Whitmarsh have] been sharing the job for years anyway and practically speaking Martin has been the boss for a few years, with Ron the figurehead who makes his presence felt at race meetings and in the public arenas. There will not be much change in the way McLaren goes about its business, although they will probably enjoy better relations with the FIA now that Dennis is out of the way." [...]

By: Evan S

Evan S — Sat, 17 Jan 2009 02:35:43 +0000

I don’t see Ross Brawn anywhere else but Williams if things don’t work out at ex-Honda.

By: Finn

Finn — Fri, 16 Jan 2009 17:27:02 +0000

Very happy to see Ron shuffle from centre stage … have never been a fan of his ‘management’ style and will never forgive him for the way he treated Alonso. Just a great pity that he gets to go with a WDC glowing in the distance …. if only Ferrari hadn’t made so many mistakes and handed the season to Lewis/Macca/Ron.

Hope Martin will do well, but feel he can be a bit too ‘soft’ and ‘wobbly’ and wonder if he really has the drive to push the team on. Expect Macca will slip this year a little during the transition. A job for Ross Brawn if Honda doesn’t get bailed out?

By: Facchetti

Facchetti — Fri, 16 Jan 2009 16:27:17 +0000

If you weigh up the negative and positive press that Ron Dennis has generated in the past few years you could argue that he had become a net negative for the McLaren cause (the wrangles with the FIA, other teams and even his tenuous grip on his own young charge, Hamilton, as betrayed by those indiscreet pit radio out-takes). Is it possible that the sport/business of F1 has now outgrown the old school characters that were so influential in its formation? Dennis, like Ecclestone, Mosley and other “old boys”, had increasingly appeared to be just slightly out of synch and uncomfortable in this new media world where image is everything, media relations are ever more demanding and control is so difficult to maintain. Still, as an “old boy” myself, I will miss his grumpy ways.