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Will Ron Retire?
By Emma Aitken August 15 2008
Vodafone McLaren Mercedes have felt the need to issue a statement regarding Ron Dennis' retirement plans, claiming that he hasn't handed in his notice. It has been widly speculated that the man himself is throwing everything in to this season at the expense of the development of the 2009 car to go out with a bang and a world championship title as a retirement present.

Rumour has it that Ron Dennis is throwing all his energy (and getting the rest of the team to throw theirs) into this season’s car as it will be the last car he will be having anything to do with. Who cares about the development of the 2009 model? Ron wants to see the world championship won this year so that he can go out on a high. Hang what happens next season! 

Not terribly likely. Even if the retirement rumours are true and the big man at McLaren is set to retire, this is a man who has spent many years striving to make his team the very best; to win championships. I don’t believe he would simply stop caring at the expense of the team’s future success just because he will no longer be holding the reins on the pit wall. 

Ron Dennis isn’t just team principle of Vodafone McLaren Mercedes. He is also chairman and chief executive officer of the McLaren Group. He is a 15% share holder too. His commitment to McLaren as a whole runs very deep. But he has backed off a little bit. He used to be a 35% shareholder until he sold a few off. 

But times have been hard for Ron recently. It is worth mentioning that much of this speculation over the retirement rumours stem from comments made throughout the dark, terrible days of the 2007 season. What with wives of team members nipping to the local Spar shop to make use of the photocopying amenities resulting in the whole ‘Spygate’ affair coupled with petulant racing drivers throwing all of their toys out of the pram (Spanish and British toys, I hasten to add), it was hardly a time for rosy, sunny sound bites from McLaren’s top man. Throw in separating from your wife of twenty plus years and it didn’t make for the best year of his life. 

It is also worth mentioning that the portal from which this speculation tumbled out of was none other than a Spanish newspaper. Obviously all news broadcasted from our Spanish friends last season was completely substantiated and based on complete non-biased facts! 

So McLaren have felt the need to issue forth a statement. 

‘Recent articles suggesting that Ron is considering stepping back, or that he will step back if the world championship is won by Vodafone McLaren Mercedes this year, have been based around a very old quote.’ 

‘Ron has made it clear on numerous occasions that he has made no decision as to if and when he may or may not step aside.’ 

‘Ron’s, and the team’s, focus remains on winning every grand prix we start – and that applies to this season, next season, the season after that and so on.’  

Right, we get the point. If you read the statement carefully though, they do not categorically deny that Ron is retiring. Basically they are saying that he hasn’t specified anything either way, but it is still all systems go as per usual at camp McLaren. 

When I first approached the notion of Ron retiring my initial knee jerk response was ‘absolutely no way!’  But that was a romantic notion based on the fact that I just couldn’t imagine the team without him. Once I started putting this article together I actually changed my mind. He is 61 years old and reportedly worth about £90 million. In recent years he has had more than his fair share of grief to put up with, not least the break up of his marriage, along with all the political in-fighting at Formula 1. Even the best of us would be feeling slightly world weary by now. He would definitely be forgiven for wanting to make hay while the sun was still shining. 

I doubt that he will retire completely from McLaren as a whole. He has his finger in far too many pies as far as that organisation is concerned. But Martin Whitmarsh has proved to be a valuable member of the squad and would do a fine job as team principle. I do totally refute the claim that Mr Dennis is taking his eye off the 2009 ball in order to concentrate on the rest of 2008. McLaren Mercedes is in his blood. Regardless of where he sits next season, whether it be on the pit wall or on his sofa, it will always be about winning for him, always.

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