- 16 Apr 09, 18:41#108299
Ayrton Senna: WDC 1988, 1989, 1990, 1991
McLaren: WCC 1974, 1984, 1985, 1988, 1989, 1990, 1991, 1998, 1999, 2007
McLaren: WDC 1974, 1976, 1984, 1985, 1986, 1988, 1989, 1990, 1991, 1998, 1999, 2008
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/sport/ ... 105784.ece
Is Ron Dennis really stepping aside or is this just a smoke-screen to get the team through a difficult period?
This is a watershed in the history of McLaren. There has now been a proper change of power at the top. Ron Dennis has now stepped completely to one side and allowed Martin Whitmarsh to run the team as he wishes. So today marks the beginning of the Whitmarsh era after many years with Ron Dennis in charge
Is this an admission of guilt for the Australian Grand Prix debacle on Dennis's part?
It seems to anyone watching from the outside that the coincidence of this sudden big change at the top and the recent trauma the team has been through in Malaysia and Australia are linked and I think there is no doubt that they are. Whitmarsh and McLaren itself are doing their best to gloss over that detail. They are hiding behind that fact there is a hearing coming up, so they don't want to discuss the detail. But certainly these two events are linked. This move wasn't on the cards three weeks ago and then it has suddenly happened.
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Will Dennis's decision safeguard the future of Lewis Hamilton at McLaren?
The view definitely seems to be that there was pressure from Lewis and his father for complete change at the top. No one wants to say in public what has been going, but there is a very strong feeling that Anthony Hamilton was getting to the end of his tether with the regime as it was.
Whether or not Lewis will fulfil his five-year contract, which has three years left to run, is something we will have to judge in the coming months. But McLaren will be hoping he will.
The forces that have been unleashed by this whole affair have been extremely destructive and there are now a big question marks over Lewis's tenure at McLaren, which were not there at the beginning of the season.
One way to keep Lewis happy is for McLaren to get to grips with the problems they have had this season and get the car back to the front of the grid. I think that would soothe a lot of open wounds better than any management reshuffle.
It all seems to have happened very quickly from last season's world championship victory. What went wrong?
People said that Dennis would have to resign at the end of 2007 when the team was caught cheating and fined £100m. Lewis then lost the world championship at the last race, but McLaren survived and came back brilliantly last season.
These developments have happened very suddenly, six months after one of the highest peaks for McLaren when Lewis became champion last November.
But in a very short time they have got themselves into a terrible mess. It's not going to be easy for Whitmarsh to turn this around.
One man who won't be disappointed to see Dennis go is Max Mosley. Will this help McLaren's relationship with the FIA?
There is no question that Max Mosley had it in for Dennis, but Dennis also hugely disliked Mosley so it was a mutual antipathy. I don't think anyone failed to spot that this was affecting McLaren's relations with the FIA.
What I would expect Whitmarsh to do is make a big effort to completely turnover a new leaf regarding the team's relations with the FIA. I would expect to see far less confrontation and investigation and far less behaviour from McLaren that could attract the stewards' attention.
What kind of character is Whitmarsh? Has he got what it takes to steer McLaren back to the top?
He is a much more open, straightforward character than Ron Dennis. The question mark is whether he can be ruthless and nasty enough to lead the team to successive titles. I think the jury is out on whether Whitmarsh has that steel and ruthless streak to occupy the top berth at the pinnacle of motor racing. We will have to see how he fairs.
What are the main tasks facing Whitmarsh as he takes over?
He's already been in charge to some degree but now he really is the man. It's his team.
The first thing he has to do is galvanise the technical and racing team to get this car back up the grid. I think if he can do that a lot of the problems they have got at the moment will start to seem much less pressing. I think that will help Lewis and everyone else focused on the task of retaining the championship. That will be his first task.
After that he may look at the team itself. McLaren has lost a number of key people, like Dave Ryan, who was sacked, and now Ron as well as a few others in recent weeks so he may want to reshuffle the team a bit and promote a few people from within to fill key roles.
Is Ron Dennis really stepping aside or is this just a smoke-screen to get the team through a difficult period?
This is a watershed in the history of McLaren. There has now been a proper change of power at the top. Ron Dennis has now stepped completely to one side and allowed Martin Whitmarsh to run the team as he wishes. So today marks the beginning of the Whitmarsh era after many years with Ron Dennis in charge
Is this an admission of guilt for the Australian Grand Prix debacle on Dennis's part?
It seems to anyone watching from the outside that the coincidence of this sudden big change at the top and the recent trauma the team has been through in Malaysia and Australia are linked and I think there is no doubt that they are. Whitmarsh and McLaren itself are doing their best to gloss over that detail. They are hiding behind that fact there is a hearing coming up, so they don't want to discuss the detail. But certainly these two events are linked. This move wasn't on the cards three weeks ago and then it has suddenly happened.
Related Links
Will Dennis's decision safeguard the future of Lewis Hamilton at McLaren?
The view definitely seems to be that there was pressure from Lewis and his father for complete change at the top. No one wants to say in public what has been going, but there is a very strong feeling that Anthony Hamilton was getting to the end of his tether with the regime as it was.
Whether or not Lewis will fulfil his five-year contract, which has three years left to run, is something we will have to judge in the coming months. But McLaren will be hoping he will.
The forces that have been unleashed by this whole affair have been extremely destructive and there are now a big question marks over Lewis's tenure at McLaren, which were not there at the beginning of the season.
One way to keep Lewis happy is for McLaren to get to grips with the problems they have had this season and get the car back to the front of the grid. I think that would soothe a lot of open wounds better than any management reshuffle.
It all seems to have happened very quickly from last season's world championship victory. What went wrong?
People said that Dennis would have to resign at the end of 2007 when the team was caught cheating and fined £100m. Lewis then lost the world championship at the last race, but McLaren survived and came back brilliantly last season.
These developments have happened very suddenly, six months after one of the highest peaks for McLaren when Lewis became champion last November.
But in a very short time they have got themselves into a terrible mess. It's not going to be easy for Whitmarsh to turn this around.
One man who won't be disappointed to see Dennis go is Max Mosley. Will this help McLaren's relationship with the FIA?
There is no question that Max Mosley had it in for Dennis, but Dennis also hugely disliked Mosley so it was a mutual antipathy. I don't think anyone failed to spot that this was affecting McLaren's relations with the FIA.
What I would expect Whitmarsh to do is make a big effort to completely turnover a new leaf regarding the team's relations with the FIA. I would expect to see far less confrontation and investigation and far less behaviour from McLaren that could attract the stewards' attention.
What kind of character is Whitmarsh? Has he got what it takes to steer McLaren back to the top?
He is a much more open, straightforward character than Ron Dennis. The question mark is whether he can be ruthless and nasty enough to lead the team to successive titles. I think the jury is out on whether Whitmarsh has that steel and ruthless streak to occupy the top berth at the pinnacle of motor racing. We will have to see how he fairs.
What are the main tasks facing Whitmarsh as he takes over?
He's already been in charge to some degree but now he really is the man. It's his team.
The first thing he has to do is galvanise the technical and racing team to get this car back up the grid. I think if he can do that a lot of the problems they have got at the moment will start to seem much less pressing. I think that will help Lewis and everyone else focused on the task of retaining the championship. That will be his first task.
After that he may look at the team itself. McLaren has lost a number of key people, like Dave Ryan, who was sacked, and now Ron as well as a few others in recent weeks so he may want to reshuffle the team a bit and promote a few people from within to fill key roles.
Ayrton Senna: WDC 1988, 1989, 1990, 1991
McLaren: WCC 1974, 1984, 1985, 1988, 1989, 1990, 1991, 1998, 1999, 2007
McLaren: WDC 1974, 1976, 1984, 1985, 1986, 1988, 1989, 1990, 1991, 1998, 1999, 2008
