If not Ron , who takes the helm ?

[Bagwan]

Much speculation is floating around about whether Ron will leave his post at McLaren , so I thought about who would take the reins if he does .

Most likely , I think , because of his botched entry in the series , especially when it was due to the McLaren situation , is David Richards .

I hate the idea , as I see Richards as a snake worse than Ron , but I think it most likely , given the circumstances .

What's everyone else think ?

[DazzlaF1]

Because of McLaren's close links with Mercedes, i'd think Norbert Haug

[Stuartf12007]

Maggie Tatcherrrrrrr!!

[wedge]

Obviously it's Martin Whitmarsh

[Bagwan]

Obviously it's Martin Whitmarsh

He did sign the apology .
He does sound like a main candidate , wedge .

Haug also has a foot in the door .

Both those guys , though , were there for this mess , so Richards may have the inside because he was outside .
He's also creditted by some , myself not included , as having cleaned house and turned BAR around .
And , he's just been left standing at the altar by the team , so one could assume he's done a little set-up of his own in regards to how to work with the team and car .


A while back I opined in jest that it was all a conspiracy , and the one responsible was Richards .
It was a joke , but maybe not one fetched as far as I thought .

He did say he wanted a team .
It has been curious that very little news was coming on progress of the new entry . The word was that they had no confirmation that they would be able to run , with challenges to customers already running in place .

Dave starting a new team would require a great deal of time to get together , whether one had a rolling chassis or not , and to leave it too late would risk a no-show or utter embarassment at the first races at least , and neither Merc or Dave wanted that .

Mid-field or better right out of the box would be the aim , and it's hard to see Merc even letting him get too far behind the 8-ball on this .

And , we know Ron has disappointed Merc with unreliability the last couple of years , and that driver management has been questioned heavily .


I didn't start this thread to slag Richards , and I hope I haven't opened too big a can of worms by doing so , but I see a pattern here . Richards had an easy time of swooping in on the seat at BAR , and , as I see it , whether good fortune , or devious planning , is well-placed to slide into Dennis's throne , if he is to leave .

[SGWilko]

He did sign the apology .
He does sound like a main candidate , wedge .

Haug also has a foot in the door .

Both those guys , though , were there for this mess , so Richards may have the inside because he was outside .
He's also creditted by some , myself not included , as having cleaned house and turned BAR around .
And , he's just been left standing at the altar by the team , so one could assume he's done a little set-up of his own in regards to how to work with the team and car .


A while back I opined in jest that it was all a conspiracy , and the one responsible was Richards .
It was a joke , but maybe not one fetched as far as I thought .

He did say he wanted a team .
It has been curious that very little news was coming on progress of the new entry . The word was that they had no confirmation that they would be able to run , with challenges to customers already running in place .

Dave starting a new team would require a great deal of time to get together , whether one had a rolling chassis or not , and to leave it too late would risk a no-show or utter embarassment at the first races at least , and neither Merc or Dave wanted that .

Mid-field or better right out of the box would be the aim , and it's hard to see Merc even letting him get too far behind the 8-ball on this .

And , we know Ron has disappointed Merc with unreliability the last couple of years , and that driver management has been questioned heavily .


I didn't start this thread to slag Richards , and I hope I haven't opened too big a can of worms by doing so , but I see a pattern here . Richards had an easy time of swooping in on the seat at BAR , and , as I see it , whether good fortune , or devious planning , is well-placed to slide into Dennis's throne , if he is to leave .

I think David Richards is a good candidate, but why do you think he is a 'snake'.

He did a very solid job at BAR, he may have mishandled JV, but Jacques was just draining money out the company, and not giving the results.

I guess I don't know enough about his (DR) past to make a qualified judgement.

[markabilly]

Obviously it's Martin Whitmarsh

Probably but he has been just as deep as the RD in the mess.....my vote would be MS, if he was prepared to dedicate the time necessary...he did a similar job at ferrari when he was not driving the car on the track, and when at the top of such a large organization, you are only a fugurehead anyway, just responsible for the big picture

[Valve Bounce]

Paul Stoddart

[markabilly]

Paul Stoddart

MaX called, says neither he nor you will get a christmas card this year and just for that, that little feb hearing may not be cancelled after all.....

[Bagwan]

I think David Richards is a good candidate, but why do you think he is a 'snake'.

He did a very solid job at BAR, he may have mishandled JV, but Jacques was just draining money out the company, and not giving the results.

I guess I don't know enough about his (DR) past to make a qualified judgement.

In a nutshell , JV was driving a reynard truck that had wings falling off .
Richards screwed Pollock out of his seat and then Jacques out of his .
JV wasn't paid out of the team budget ever .

Honda eventually dumped the snake , but they'll not be on the phone to Mercedes to warn them . They did well to not get much of this mess on them , and won't want any e-mails or text messaging showing up any time soon .