Dennis to announce future plans

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Courtesy of Autosport

By Jonathan Noble and Simon Strang    Wednesday, April 15th 2009, 15:06 GMT

Ron Dennis, McLaren, 2008McLaren Group chairman Ron Dennis is to make an announcement about his future plans within the company tomorrow, AUTOSPORT has learned, amid suggestions he could step back completely from his involvement with the Formula 1 team.

Dennis, who relinquished the team principal role to Martin Whitmarsh on March 1, is to hold a press conference at McLaren's Woking headquarters to reveal plans for the automotive section of his company.

And it is understood that Dennis could use the opportunity to announce that he is now to switch his focus entirely to making a success of McLaren's road car plans, which would mean him handing over total responsibility for the F1 operation to Whitmarsh.

Such an announcement comes with McLaren embroiled in the controversy about the team and Lewis Hamilton lying to race stewards at the Australian and Malaysian Grands Prix.

Dennis announced at the launch of McLaren's 2009 challenger at Woking in January that he was to step down as team principal so he could focus on other aspects of the McLaren company.

However, he maintained links with the F1 team - and had a notable presence in the garage during the Australian Grand Prix.

Speaking about his decision to hand over responsibility to Whitmarsh, and McLaren's road car plans, at the January launch, Dennis said: "We have a very clear intention for our production car programme, which is really challenging. Any product we bring to the market will certainly fall, we hope, well the other side of this difficult financial period. We understand the challenge.

"I stress, and it is nothing to get too excited about, but it is absolutely time for Martin (Whitmarsh) to take over the job as team principal and, as of March 1, Martin will adopt that responsibility. I will still go to races, but not all of them, because I am passionate about Formula 1.

"I intend to work harder and will take on greater responsibility in certain key areas in the group. I will be full executive chairman. I still have many other responsibilities."

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Dennis relinquishes McLaren's F1 duties

By Pablo Elizalde    Thursday, April 16th 2009, 10:12 GMT

Ron DennisThe McLaren team has confirmed Ron Dennis is stepping back completely from his involvement with the Formula 1 squad, as AUTOSPORT predicted on Wednesday.

McLaren said on Thursday that Dennis has already handed his responsibility as CEO of McLaren Racing to Martin Whitmarsh, who was named team principal earlier this year.

Dennis will focus entirely on leading the new sports car business, McLaren Automotive, which will now become an independent company, and which plans to launch the first model of McLaren sports cars in 2011.

Dennis, who missed his first grand prix for many years when he skipped the Malaysian GP, said the decision to step down was made by him alone.

"I passed the role of team principal of Vodafone McLaren Mercedes to Martin Whitmarsh on January 16th, the day of the launch of our new Formula 1 car," said Dennis.

"That day I was asked many times whether I would attend the 2009 Australian Grand Prix. My answer was 'yes'. I duly attended it - albeit not as the person in charge of Vodafone McLaren Mercedes. It was, I admit, a strange feeling.

"The next race, the Malaysian Grand Prix, I watched on TV in the UK - an activity I found surprisingly easy. I'd expected to be more emotional about it, after an unbroken run of attending so many grands prix for so many years.

"I admit I'm not always easy to get on with. I admit I've always fought hard for McLaren in Formula 1. I doubt if Max Mosley or Bernie Ecclestone will be displeased by my decision. But no one asked me to do it. It was my decision.

"Equally, I was the architect of today's restructure of the McLaren Group. Again, no-one asked me to do it. It was my decision.

"I feel enormously enthused about the prospects for the McLaren Group and for McLaren Automotive, and have no qualms about leaving Martin to report to the board regarding matters connected with Formula 1."

McLaren also said Richard Lapthorne will be appointed non-executive chairman of the McLaren Group and a non-executive director of McLaren Automotive.

"This is a very exciting time to be joining the McLaren Group and to be working closely with Ron and his team on McLaren Automotive's expansion into the sports car market," said Lapthorne.

"It's a rare opportunity to be involved at a key stage in the development of a British sports car company of an entirely new sort, especially one that has such a great racing pedigree and such a world-class reputation as McLaren."