Ron's gone babe, Rons gone

[Mauri A]

Problem? What problem?

Personal dislike.

[Knock-on]

It certainly won't be the same in the pitlane without him, but Whitmarsh is more than capable to do the job as he has been making more and more crucial decisions over the past two years....

Agreed. MW does have some rather hefty Wellies to fill (more like Waders) but he has demonstrated his competence over the last few years.

Good luck to him

Superb principal for someone who failed to see what was going on his team in 2007. Questionable I must say.

Fair point.

It's a real shame that Ron blotted his copybook with 'Spygate'.

Had he just done the right thing from Day One, he could really have been considered as a true 'Statesman'.

[Ranger]

2007 was a sad and sorry episode in a brilliant career.

I was never a major fan but you have to acknowledge his contribution to F1 over nearly 30 years. It'll be a bit wierd to not see him on the pitwall this year.

[BDunnell]

Certainly his track record is superb, his win ratio excellent, but the idea that the man whose team was handed the heaviest fine in F1 history is a 'statesman' is somewhat over the top.

A superb team principal? Yes. A great statesman? No.

Then again, Bismarck was a great statesman, and look where that led! So maybe you have a point.

I think this is all fair and well-put, though I personally have a more favourable view of Ron than I know you do. And you must surely win some sort of award for mentioning Bismarck in different posts on different topics in two consecutive days!

[Knock-on]

Superb principal for someone who failed to see what was going on his team in 2007. Questionable I must say.

But I agree . Excellent career, huge success, and a huge figure within F1. I've always liked Ron, whilst a businessman, you can tell he is passionate about McLaren, whilst many will slate him for 2007 etc, those press gatherings he held in Belgium, you could see the emotion this man holds to his reputation, and the reputation of the company he works for. And I'll always admire that.

I'm going to miss the guy. And very much look forward to how the McLaren Group progress.

For a man that has always had huge pride in McLaren and a desire to be fair, Spygate really hit him hard and I don't think he got over having his honour assaulted.

Love or hate Max, I do respect him for publicly stating he believed Ron at the back end of Spygate.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ron_Dennis

[Daniel]

Personal dislike.

And?

I don't like thin crust pizza but sure as hell isn't a problem for me

[PolePosition_1]

Fair point.

It's a real shame that Ron blotted his copybook with 'Spygate'.

Had he just done the right thing from Day One, he could really have been considered as a true 'Statesman'.

Don't really want to go into it that much.

If your accusing him of not doing the right thing in terms of lying. I personally don't believe he ever lied. He always told what he thought to be the truth.

He is however guilty of poor management, in terms of not knowing what was happening within his own team. But then this should stem to the rogue employee who first let this infiltrate the company. I don't think even the best CEO of a company that side would have been able to stop this.

You also have to question the frequencies of such incidents. I believe its a pretty frequent occurance, and that this case is highlighted due to fact it involved the two teams, and that it was caught.

[ioan]

That´s your problem.

It's rather yours! :

[Dave B]

Ron has done a huge amount for the sport and for McLaren, it's a shame that he'll probably be best remembered as the man whose team got caught doing what pretty much every team has always done.

He instilled a sense of excellence in the whole McLaren group, and while they may have come over as cold and sterile at times, this approach has made them one of the most successful teams of the modern era.