Ron Dennis steps down from McLaren F1

[Nodz86]

Ron Dennis steps down from McLaren F1, focusing on supercars

by Damon Lavrin on Jan 16th 2009 at 2:32PM

 

Ron Dennis, the man behind the McLaren-Mercedes F1 team, announced he'll be stepping down from his position on March 1st to concentrate on McLaren's future endeavors. Dennis made it clear during today's press conference that his departure shouldn't be perceived as retirement. On the contrary, Dennis said, "The first thing I'm going to do is work harder." And by "work harder" Dennis means he'll be focusing on the new road-going efforts of McLaren Automotive.

 

The new McLaren supercar – codenamed the P11 – is slated to hit roads in 2010, with power provided by a 600-hp AMG-sourced 6.2-liter V8. Three different variants will be offered, ranging from a standard road car, a convertible and a race-ready version. McLaren is also rumored to be working on two other models, including a Porsche 911-fighter expected to be priced below $100,000. In this economy, Ron has his work cut out for him.

 

At the end of February, Dennis will end his 28-year reign at McLaren-Mercedes and hand over the day-to-day operations to current team CEO, Martin Whitmarsh. Thanks to all who tipped in.

 

[source: ITV-F1 | Image: Getty/AFP]

 

 

From Autoblog

[CarMadMike]

I heard about this, He left on a high! :)

[HavockJoker]

Read this on the official F1 site. Its a shame that he just decided to step down. He should have pushed for another season victory before moving down.

[Camel]

It is a shame he's leaving after a good last season. Actually read this this morning at college and was going to post it but I couldn't because I was at college.