Ferrari Mailing List: Re: Ron Dennis steps down from McLaren F1

[Tom Reynolds (kjtar]

Yeah, I'm certainly not really surprised that he's stepped down from the F1
team, as it was reported that he'd been previously thinking about doing
that.  I think what with the Spygate and with Lewis in the hunt for the
Driver's Championship that he wanted to try to end on a high note.
Tom Reynolds
Tulsa, OK

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Dennis Liu" <bigheaddennis [at] gmail.com>
To: <kjtar [at] cox.net>
Cc: "The FerrariList" <ferrari [at] ferrarilist.com>
Sent: Saturday, January 17, 2009 11:30 AM
Subject: [Ferrari] Ron Dennis steps down from McLaren F1


Ron will no longer be Team Principal, with Roger Martin Whitmarsh taking
over.  Ron will be focusing on McLaren's road car efforts.

Vty,

--Dennis

http://www.itv-f1.com/News_Article.aspx?id=44942

Dennis to step down as team boss
Friday, 16 January 2009 12:35

Martin Whitmarsh will take over from Ron Dennis as McLaren's team principal
from March 1, Dennis announced at the MP4-24 launch on Friday.

Dennis will remain as chairman and CEO of the McLaren Group but hand over
the day-to-day running of the Formula 1 team, which he has controlled since
1981, to his long-time number two and current team CEO Whitmarsh.

Dennis revealed the management change in answer to the final question of a
press conference with journalists at the team's Woking base, with the
61-year-old insisting it was the "right time" for him to step aside and that
it had been "100% my decision".

He added that he would now concentrate on other projects within the McLaren
Group, which he is a 15% shareholder of, but that he wasn't totally cutting
his ties with F1 and would still attend some grands prix in 2009.

Responding to a question about his 2009 plans, Dennis said: "The first thing
I'm going to do is work harder.

"I intend to raise my own game because I think everybody in our organisation
at every level realises that this is a tough period in which we are going to
work.

"We are a very diverse organisation now; we have a very clear intention for
our production car programme which is really challenging

"Any products we bring to the market will certainly be well the other side
of this difficult financial period so we understand the challenge.

"But it is absolutely time for Martin to take over the job of team principal
and as of the 1st of March, Martin will have that responsibility.

"I will still be going to races, not all of them, because I'm still
passionate about Formula 1

"But I intend to work harder and take on more responsibilities or, let's
say, a greater responsibility in certain key areas of the Group.

"I will be full executive chairman and I still have many other
responsibilities.

"But it is time to hand over and I have to say it is absolutely 100% my
decision, it's what I want to do."

Speculation that Dennis was considering stepping down from his team boss
role has been rife for over a year and intensified at the start of last
season following the fall-out from the 'Spygate' saga.

But Dennis insisted he would not be stepping back in 2008 and oversaw
McLaren's first drivers' title success in nine years courtesy of his
long-time protégé Lewis Hamilton.

Now looking ahead to his new challenge in other parts of the McLaren Group,
Dennis said he would be able to apportion more of his time on other projects
without the rigid structure of an F1 season to follow.

"As I say I do intend to work much harder, so don't perceive it in any shape
or form as some sort of retirement," he added.

"I want to work harder in other areas and having to plan those tasks around
the grand prix calendar is sometimes destructive to the process."

He added that he though Whitmarsh, who has worked alongside him since 1989,
will flourish with his added responsibilities.

"It's a job that I think Martin will really embrace and enjoy," he said.

"It's a job that in practice we've shared for years anyway but now its going
to be his decision that determines the outcome of certain things that take
place at the grand prix circuit and other issues relating to the operation
of the grand prix team."

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