Ron Dennis has been at the helm of McLaren for a seriously long time.
In all but name the connection to Bruce McLaren’s team is nil. It is Ron’s team through and through. So why are people trying to get rid of him?
Well obviously McLaren had a difficult year last year politically and internally he had a bit of a fight on his hands but McLaren almost won.
It seems the pressure for him to retire early is completely external.
You have the British press on the one hand who were slighted by being refused access to Lewis. And the Spanish press who feel Denis betrayed Alonso.
And mainly you have Max. Max claimed last week that he actually liked Ron but that he hated the way Ron treated the sport. (I wonder if Max knows what people think about the way he treats the sport?) But he may have a point. Ron only has self interest at heart, he can’t imagine what Frank Williams feels like at the back of the grid – fighting for survival. When Ron fights all of the cost cutting measures he does it because he isn’t humble. That’s what Max seems to be saying.
If only, Max seemed to be saying, we could show Ron what it is like at the wrong end of the paddock. What it’s like to have an external constraint on your car design. But Max doesn’t have to dream it’s happening.
Max doesn’t want rid of Ron yet. He wants to teach him a lesson first.
