Ron Dennis

I was surprised to see there wasn't already a thread about this most famous of (former) team principals.

Much has been said about Ron Dennis and his unique personality and approach, mostly taken with a pinch of salt and slight chuckle.
Well perhaps this article, by a former McLaren employee, will dispel some myths while simultaneously reinforcing others: http://f1elvis.com/2012/11/07/mr-ron-dennis-cbe/

(Alternative link: http://www.pitlanemagazine.com/magazine/?p=435)

Love him or loathe him, Dennis' tenure at McLaren will be remembered for a long time to come and it is inevitable that current and future team principals will be compared to him.
 
Always struck me as the kind of guy you'd get on well with, as long as you did your job properly. If you're not up to scratch however, i'm sure he could be a monumental arse. I can kind of relate to that, although perhaps not quite to the OCD level of Mr Dennis.
I recall the story of him arriving at a company's factory for a meeting, with a view to the company doing some work for McLaren. Driving up to the factory main gate, he saw how clean the entrance road was, and decided to do business with them practically before he'd even set foot in the building.
 
I wonder if now Ron will finally write that book he has been threatening to?
He did say that there were a few things which be a bit explosive and reveal exactly what went on in 2007.

Now that the last driver he was involved with has left the team, it would seem like a good time.
Although he is still heavily involved with McLaren so I doubt he would want to harm himself or the company.
 
Can you imagine the sessions they would have together?

24 hours of non stop talking for half a page of translated content. We may well not see the finished article for a few years.
 
I hadn't had a chance to read that until now, a fascinating interview which reveals so much behind his motivation and methods.
 
I was surprised to see there wasn't already a thread about this most famous of (former) team principals.

Much has been said about Ron Dennis and his unique personality and approach, mostly taken with a pinch of salt and slight chuckle.
Well perhaps this article, by a former McLaren employee, will dispel some myths while simultaneously reinforcing others: http://f1elvis.com/2012/11/07/mr-ron-dennis-cbe/

(Alternative link: http://www.pitlanemagazine.com/magazine/?p=435)

Love him or loathe him, Dennis' tenure at McLaren will be remembered for a long time to come and it is inevitable that current and future team principals will be compared to him.

With his made up words and existence questioned by the workforce I started picturing Big Brother from 1984 part way through that article.
 
http://www1.skysports.com/formula-1/news/12433/8379772/
I read a similar article in a newspaper last week-end.(Sat)
I thought the headline twisted the story a bit.
IMO, it did dispel the idea that LH left for more money....
Peter Rafferty wrote in 'I'"The McLaren team principal, Martin Whitmarsh, long maintained that Hamilton, was offered a salary he believes would have made him the highest-paid driver on the grid."
And he didn't leave for 'Number One' status ...he categorically asked for equality at Mercedes.
 
F1ang-o - I don't see the problem with that article. What Ron says is true, yes, they could have kept Lewis if they matched his terms, but that wouldn't have been benificial for either party. Lewis obviously wasn't happy at McLaren, so keeping himn wouldn't have improved anything.

I managed to read a few comments on ghe Sky site and they are diabolical.
 
You don't know that what Ron says is true. A) Whitmarsh says they were prepared to match Mercedes terms and B) Money wasn't the motivating factor in the move. I think this decision was out of Ron's hands.Lewis didnt want to stay. Maybe that's a bitter pill for Ron to swallow.
 
racecub - I would never call Ron a liar, I don't particularly like Rons way of doing things, but there is no way I would question his integrity. Ron says it how it is (once you learn to decipher the Ron speak of course). A contract isn't always about money and in this case, it seems it was definitely about more than money, just that Ron was not going to bend on some of the issues as he did not see it worthwhile for his company. I can't see why people have a problem with this.

No, Whitmarsh didn't say they were prepared to match Mercedes terms, he said they were willing to match Mecedes in terms of renumeration, not quite the same thing.
 
You don't know that what Ron says is true. A) Whitmarsh says they were prepared to match Mercedes terms and B) Money wasn't the motivating factor in the move. I think this decision was out of Ron's hands.Lewis didnt want to stay. Maybe that's a bitter pill for Ron to swallow.

In the same vein, there is no guarantee that point a or point b are actually correct. Not that I do not believe them, as point B I think is most likely, however, without having been involved directly in the discussions, I am not sure anyone can claim to know what the situation actually was.
 
The article in last weekend's paper with the headline...'McLaren could have kept Hamilton-but chose not to'

IMO the article didn't say what they chose not to do........it wasn't about money or status....

Ron said........"We don't wish him every success at Mercedes-that's understandable, as he's obviously going to be a competitor-but we don't wish him anything negative."
Lewis tried to talk to Ron on the phone, after he had told MW his intention to leave McLaren, but he was unable to, for several weeks?

I wouldn't question Bill Clinton's integrity....but he did say that "he definately didn't have sex with that woman."

Calling someone a liar........& implying that someone is trying to cover up..... are the same, but different
 
Back
Top Bottom