Ron Dennis Has Left McLaren After More Than 35 Years In The Driving Seat

Ron Dennis, the man whose zealous pursuit of perfection built McLaren into a Formula 1 racing powerhouse of the 1980s, ‘90s and ‘00s, has finally cut all ties with the company.

The man who brought a fresh-faced rookie called Lewis Hamilton up to the big leagues of F1 has sold his shares in both McLaren Automotive, which makes the cars we know and love, and McLaren Technology Group, which contains the F1 team and special projects.

The two companies will now be brought back together under the single banner of the new McLaren Group, a holding company that will act as a parent for both of the brand’s arms.

Dennis, who recently turned 70, is expected to pocket around £275 million from the deal before any applicable taxes, which might somewhat sweeten the bitter pill he was forced to swallow in a recent and acrimonious bust-up with the rest of the company’s shareholders. Rumours at the time said Dennis’ furious taste for success at any cost was interfering with profitability.

Rather than stepping quietly into retirement, though, Dennis has joined the Ministry of Defence Innovation Advisory Panel, looking at how new technologies can be applied to weapons and defence. If we were the other board members, we might be worried…

Shaikh Mohammed bin Essa Al Khalifa is stepping up to the big chair as McLaren Group’s Executive Chairman in Dennis’ place. A press release following the far-reaching announcement quoted him as saying:

“McLaren is unique, due to its strong heritage and passion to be best in everything it does, but also because no other company in the world can claim a corporate structure that comprises automotive, motorsport and applied technologies. It’s clear that as one Group, each of those three pillars of our business will support and enhance the other two.
“Together they will embark on what I firmly believe to be a new and even more successful era in the McLaren brand’s dynamic and fascinating 54-year history.”

He may have ignored the elephant in the room with regard to the company’s shocking performances on track since reuniting with Honda in Formula 1, but new Executive Committee Principal Mansour Ojjeh didn’t. He said:

“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.”