- 28 Oct 08, 12:09#76577
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
From autosport.com:
Dennis proud regardless of titles
By Jonathan Noble Tuesday, October 28th 2008, 09:55 GMT
McLaren boss Ron Dennis says whatever the outcome of this weekend's title decider in Brazil, he will be immensely proud of the efforts all of his team members have made this season.
After moving on from the controversial events of 2007, Dennis has nothing but praise for the work and attitude of his employees as they bid to help make Lewis Hamilton world champion at Interlagos.
"I think it would mean so much to everyone who works for McLaren if we were to win the championship," said Dennis in an interview with The Daily Mail.
"But, whether we win the championship or finish second, everyone has already done a fantastic job to take us from where we were 12 months ago to where we are now: in contention for the championship.
"Having said, that, I won't give myself the luxury of imagining how I'll feel if we win because there's no sense in it. But, whether we win the championship or finish second, I'll have to stay calm and disciplined, and lead by example."
Dennis believes the key to McLaren being able to mount a title challenge on the back of their tumultuous 2007 campaign was the team's attitude in not dwelling on last year's events.
"From an individual perspective, every single McLaren employee agreed that we needed to look forward. We knew that if we continued to carry the baggage of negative emotion with us it would be counter-productive. It would manifest itself in an inferior performance.
"Every single employee appreciated that we were, and still are, and always will be, a truly great Grand Prix team. And I think the performance of the team this year, whether we win the world championship or come second, clearly underlines the fortitude within the team that makes McLaren truly great.
"Or, to put it another way: nothing better showcases the unburstable strength-in-depth within McLaren than the fact that, whether we win the championship or come second, we went out and did the job on the circuit again this year.
"McLaren people are fiercely proud of working for McLaren, and rightly so. McLaren is full of people who, if you cut them, would bleed McLaren."
Dennis also thinks suggestions that Hamilton has become arrogant since his arrival in F1 are wide of the mark, as he blamed rivals and the media for stirring things up.
"In any walk of life, if a young person comes in and is immediately successful, his or her competitors may struggle to come to terms with that," he explained.
"What would you expect?! What would you expect them to say?! They said it about David Beckham. They said it about others, not only in the UK. These kind of people - young people who are instantly successful - always receive criticism. It's completely understandable.
"So, with respect to journalists everywhere, many of whom are doing a difficult job very well, we advise Lewis: 'Don't read the papers, don't surf the net. We can't stop you reading the papers or surfing the net, but it may disrupt your focus so please don't.'"
Dennis also believes that any criticism that he or his team face in the wake of defeat in Brazil will be hard to justify, judging by what he has seen this season.
"I know that, if we finish second, some elements of the media will criticise us. They won't look at the extraordinary recovery that put us in a position to potentially win the championship this year.
"But I understand that. It's just the media doing their job. A professional journalist's craft is to paint a picture in different shadows, tones and textures, and to create different perspectives. I accept that. These things used to upset me in the past, but now they don't.
"So now I say to journalists: 'Knock us for our mistakes, by all means, but don't knock us for a lack of integrity or a lack of commitment to the sport. Because, whether we win the championship or finish second, we've demonstrated huge integrity and enormous commitment to the sport."
Dennis says his motivation is intact
By Jonathan Noble Tuesday, October 28th 2008, 10:38 GMT
McLaren boss Ron Dennis says his motivation to remain at the helm of the Woking-based team has been renewed after he decided to stay on earlier this year.
Dennis had weighed up last winter the possibility of stepping aside as F1 team principal to focus on other responsibilities within the McLaren Group.
However, he eventually chose to recommit to another season - and claims that that decision has fired up his enthusiasm for the job again.
"Earlier this year, there were rumours that some people felt I should step down as team principal," Dennis said in an interview with The Daily Mail. "And, yes, the fact is that I did agonise over whether that would have been the correct thing to do.
"But there comes a time when you have to be true to your values and your beliefs. There was no one in the whole organisation telling me to do anything other than stay on. And, of course, in the end I did decide to stay on.
"And out of that decision came renewed motivation, shared by all my colleagues, to try our damnedest to make this season one of the very best seasons in McLaren's history. To turn a negative into a positive, in other words."
Dennis says that a structure had been put in place in the event of him choosing to step aside, with some of his previous tasks being delegated to other individuals.
"I don't regret any of the decisions I've taken," explained Dennis. "Besides, as is well known, I'd originally intended to step aside at the end of 2007, and had put everything in place to facilitate that.
"I'd agreed with my colleagues who were going to do what. Certain things that I used to take care of were delegated to others, and even though I didn't step aside they've remained delegated to those others throughout this season. So this year has been considerably easier for me than previous years in terms of hands-on workload, and that has allowed me to be more strategic, which I love."
He added: "Just to be clear I'm not leaving. If I decide to step aside, I'll step aside; I won't step away. I won't leave. I'm a shareholder of this organisation. My roots are in this organisation.
"If you cut me, I bleed McLaren. I feel very fit - last winter I embarked on a rigorous programme of working-out, and I still work-out regularly, and as a result I'm even fitter now than I was at the start of the year. And I love what I do."
It's great to see that Ron Dennis isn't going anywhere. Up yours, Mosley! You didn't succeed in forcing him out, no matter what you tried. Long may his reign at McLaren continue! And nor have you succeeded in crushing McLaren or its fanbase. Like Ron, I think the team has done a fantastic job this season, despite the events of last season.
Dennis proud regardless of titles
By Jonathan Noble Tuesday, October 28th 2008, 09:55 GMT
McLaren boss Ron Dennis says whatever the outcome of this weekend's title decider in Brazil, he will be immensely proud of the efforts all of his team members have made this season.
After moving on from the controversial events of 2007, Dennis has nothing but praise for the work and attitude of his employees as they bid to help make Lewis Hamilton world champion at Interlagos.
"I think it would mean so much to everyone who works for McLaren if we were to win the championship," said Dennis in an interview with The Daily Mail.
"But, whether we win the championship or finish second, everyone has already done a fantastic job to take us from where we were 12 months ago to where we are now: in contention for the championship.
"Having said, that, I won't give myself the luxury of imagining how I'll feel if we win because there's no sense in it. But, whether we win the championship or finish second, I'll have to stay calm and disciplined, and lead by example."
Dennis believes the key to McLaren being able to mount a title challenge on the back of their tumultuous 2007 campaign was the team's attitude in not dwelling on last year's events.
"From an individual perspective, every single McLaren employee agreed that we needed to look forward. We knew that if we continued to carry the baggage of negative emotion with us it would be counter-productive. It would manifest itself in an inferior performance.
"Every single employee appreciated that we were, and still are, and always will be, a truly great Grand Prix team. And I think the performance of the team this year, whether we win the world championship or come second, clearly underlines the fortitude within the team that makes McLaren truly great.
"Or, to put it another way: nothing better showcases the unburstable strength-in-depth within McLaren than the fact that, whether we win the championship or come second, we went out and did the job on the circuit again this year.
"McLaren people are fiercely proud of working for McLaren, and rightly so. McLaren is full of people who, if you cut them, would bleed McLaren."
Dennis also thinks suggestions that Hamilton has become arrogant since his arrival in F1 are wide of the mark, as he blamed rivals and the media for stirring things up.
"In any walk of life, if a young person comes in and is immediately successful, his or her competitors may struggle to come to terms with that," he explained.
"What would you expect?! What would you expect them to say?! They said it about David Beckham. They said it about others, not only in the UK. These kind of people - young people who are instantly successful - always receive criticism. It's completely understandable.
"So, with respect to journalists everywhere, many of whom are doing a difficult job very well, we advise Lewis: 'Don't read the papers, don't surf the net. We can't stop you reading the papers or surfing the net, but it may disrupt your focus so please don't.'"
Dennis also believes that any criticism that he or his team face in the wake of defeat in Brazil will be hard to justify, judging by what he has seen this season.
"I know that, if we finish second, some elements of the media will criticise us. They won't look at the extraordinary recovery that put us in a position to potentially win the championship this year.
"But I understand that. It's just the media doing their job. A professional journalist's craft is to paint a picture in different shadows, tones and textures, and to create different perspectives. I accept that. These things used to upset me in the past, but now they don't.
"So now I say to journalists: 'Knock us for our mistakes, by all means, but don't knock us for a lack of integrity or a lack of commitment to the sport. Because, whether we win the championship or finish second, we've demonstrated huge integrity and enormous commitment to the sport."
Dennis says his motivation is intact
By Jonathan Noble Tuesday, October 28th 2008, 10:38 GMT
McLaren boss Ron Dennis says his motivation to remain at the helm of the Woking-based team has been renewed after he decided to stay on earlier this year.
Dennis had weighed up last winter the possibility of stepping aside as F1 team principal to focus on other responsibilities within the McLaren Group.
However, he eventually chose to recommit to another season - and claims that that decision has fired up his enthusiasm for the job again.
"Earlier this year, there were rumours that some people felt I should step down as team principal," Dennis said in an interview with The Daily Mail. "And, yes, the fact is that I did agonise over whether that would have been the correct thing to do.
"But there comes a time when you have to be true to your values and your beliefs. There was no one in the whole organisation telling me to do anything other than stay on. And, of course, in the end I did decide to stay on.
"And out of that decision came renewed motivation, shared by all my colleagues, to try our damnedest to make this season one of the very best seasons in McLaren's history. To turn a negative into a positive, in other words."
Dennis says that a structure had been put in place in the event of him choosing to step aside, with some of his previous tasks being delegated to other individuals.
"I don't regret any of the decisions I've taken," explained Dennis. "Besides, as is well known, I'd originally intended to step aside at the end of 2007, and had put everything in place to facilitate that.
"I'd agreed with my colleagues who were going to do what. Certain things that I used to take care of were delegated to others, and even though I didn't step aside they've remained delegated to those others throughout this season. So this year has been considerably easier for me than previous years in terms of hands-on workload, and that has allowed me to be more strategic, which I love."
He added: "Just to be clear I'm not leaving. If I decide to step aside, I'll step aside; I won't step away. I won't leave. I'm a shareholder of this organisation. My roots are in this organisation.
"If you cut me, I bleed McLaren. I feel very fit - last winter I embarked on a rigorous programme of working-out, and I still work-out regularly, and as a result I'm even fitter now than I was at the start of the year. And I love what I do."
It's great to see that Ron Dennis isn't going anywhere. Up yours, Mosley! You didn't succeed in forcing him out, no matter what you tried. Long may his reign at McLaren continue! And nor have you succeeded in crushing McLaren or its fanbase. Like Ron, I think the team has done a fantastic job this season, despite the events of last season.
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
... i am also not too keen on RD but not to a great extent like you seem to be but i still have a lot of respect for him, also there are other guys at McLaren who seem like geniunely good blokes (except for one specific person but now's not the time for that 
), prime example being Martin Whitmarsh.
