2016 McLaren F1 Team - Honda

[KingHamilton01]

Its official now, Ron Dennis is no longer at the top of Mclaren, and he has been put on gardening leave until his contract expires in January.

What a bad day for Mclaren, a bad day for the sport in general. I'm afraid that all of this power struggle battles at the top will have negative effect on the teams preparations for next year so at the moment I dont have a good feeling

http://www.autosport.com/news/report.ph ... laren-role

Let's not make any judgement, pieces are still in place obviously there is a position to be filled and on the flip side it might make McLaren a more attractive team to a number of people and sponsors who wouldn't have previously considered being part of the team.

I am sad that this has happened but times have changed and Maybe they feel that a change is needed for McLaren to flourish, But let's see how thing's progress in coming weeks.

[Jolle]

I assume the .5 billion Daimler shares buyback (Who had 40% of the company until 2009/2011) without return of investment is on the basis of this decision, not directly the ongoing struggles on track, they would know that, although in McLarens case it's a bit worse, part of the sport.
99% of the time it's about money.

[mclaren111]

ESPN:
Dennis's Statement:

Dennis owns 25 percent of McLaren group; long-time business partner Mansour Ojjeh owns the other 25 percent, with Bahrain's Mumtalakat investment fund holding the controlling 50. In a defiant statement confirming the news, Dennis said other shareholders had "forced through" his departure despite warnings of dire consequences.
The statement said: "I am disappointed that the representatives of TAG and Mumtalakat, the other main shareholders in McLaren, have forced through this decision to place me on gardening leave, despite the strong warnings from the rest at the management team about the potential consequences of their actions on the business.
"The grounds they have stated are entirely spurious; my management style is the same as it has always been and is one that has enabled McLaren to become an automotive and technology group that has won 20 Formula One world championships and grown into an £850 million a year business.
"Throughout that time I have worked closely with a series of talented colleagues to keep McLaren at the cutting edge of technology, to whom I will always be extremely grateful.

"Ultimately it has become clear to me through this process that neither TAG nor Mumtalakat share my vision for McLaren and its true growth potential. But my first concern is to the business I have built and to its 3,500 employees."

Dennis will retain his shareholding in the group but his statement hints he already has plans beyond McLaren.

"I will continue to use my significant shareholding in both companies and my seats on both boards to protect the interests and value of McLaren and help shape its future.

"In addition I intend to launch a new technology investment fund once my contractual commitments with McLaren expire.

Very sad indeed

Looking forward, I think we are lucky with Jost Capito joining when he did and he will provide good and stable leadership in this period. He has a wealth of experience in Motor Racing.

[Mansell89]

http://news.sky.com/story/ousting-denni ... n-10658644

Apparantly the Bahraini investment fund and Mr Ojjeh have both been warned that their decision risks as much as £160m in commercial deals.

[bauc]

http://news.sky.com/story/ousting-denni ... n-10658644

Apparantly the Bahraini investment fund and Mr Ojjeh have both been warned that their decision risks as much as £160m in commercial deals.

Lets just hope they will not fall apart like house of cards, Mclaren did survive without Dennis before but those were different times and different circumstances

[foxivan]

feeling sad, which I started watching F1 as a kid, Ron was there with McLaren, and luckily saw the golden era of the team. Regardless of the team's outcome in future, always sad to see an era ends in this way.

[iotar__]

feeling sad, which I started watching F1 as a kid, Ron was there with McLaren, and luckily saw the golden era of the team. Regardless of the team's outcome in future, always sad to see an era ends in this way.

I understand sentimental reasons but for Dennis F1 team was far less important than car division and current McLaren's status is a direct consequence of his choices.

It should be McLaren Merc winning all the titles works teams is getting now. I thought that at the time Merc were reluctant to invest in their own team (Renault as a good comparison). Of course they were forced and couldn't bankroll competing brand while getting fraction of marketing value in return. The fact that Honda/Brawn were available cheaply helped.

Honda deal wasn't only about sporting opportunities like RD tried to convince the world but money. That's the reality of F1 now, team are just additions to bigger business side. See how Marchionne speaks and acts, Renault's half-hearted approach, Red Bull circus, McLaren saving on tyres tests but paying +40 million to drivers , Mercedes 'losing' tens of millions every year etc.

[cma]

Maybe Ron might move up to be Bernies new helper? Maybe alongside Ross?

[TAG]

I've always been a driver fan first but McLaren to me always felt like the team that could out develop anyone over a season. The reason I fell in love with the sport was due to the McLaren (Porsche) TAG effort of the late 80s.

It was really difficult to watch the final few Hamilton years there and 2012 was excruciating. No source I can share at the moment but around the period Ron came back, he did an interview where he stated that he was the one that made the descision to let Hamilton go. He gave the example of examples which was the twittergate saga with Hamilton having shared the performance difference. Ron said that the negotiations with Hamilton had gotten to the point where he needed to show Hamilton that he needed the team more than they needed him. That's why when Hamilton opted for the wing that was clearly slower, McLaren chose not to tell him to work with the wing Button had opted for because it was demonstrably quicker. Fast forward, we know how that ended.

But to think of McLaren from the point of Hamilton's departure to today feels like an exercise in masochism. No wins, the longest stint ever in the team's history without a podium and a season where coming in 6th place is seen as a tremendous step up from the previous year. It's been even worse from a sponsorship standpoint. The title sponsor we were assured was coming never materialized, and TAG Heuer and Hugo Boss have been replaced by Sensodyne Toothpaste.

Try to close your eyes and see Senna with a Sensodyne Toothpaste patch on his overalls instead of TAG and BOSS. It really hurts the brain.

[Thunder]

Nice little insight about how it was to work with Ron: =D>
http://www.skysports.com/f1/news/12479/ ... side-story

I just hope TAG and Mumtalakat have a sound Plan about the Future of McLaren.

[godlameroso]

http://www.skysports.com/f1/news/12479/ ... ment-found

[Mansell89]

This Zak Brown fella is highly touted for sure.

Lots of stuff to play out over time.

[bauc]

This Zak Brown fella is highly touted for sure.

Lots of stuff to play out over time.

Are we talking about this Zak Brown or?

(Autosport (including its Autosport International Show and the Autosport Awards), F1 Racing, Motorsport News and LAT Images are now part of the same family as Motorsport.com and its family of websites



Zak Brown, chairman, Motorsport Network

[Sasha]

Brawn

[TAG]

Brown, not Brawn.

SkyF1- Zak Brown receives offers from McLaren and Liberty Media
American businessman expected to decide on job offers in the next week; Sky sources reveal Ron Dennis feels 'betrayed by his own family' following his boardroom ousting