If you thought rumors spread fast among automotive news sites, that's nothing compared to the speculation that spreads like wildfire around racing paddocks. The latest reports suggest that Ron Dennis, who has successfully directed the McLaren F1 team to seven constructors' titles and nine drivers' championships since taking over the team in the early 1980s, has been sacked. Shareholder and engine partner Mercedes-Benz was reportedly angered by Dennis' management of the spy scandal and his failure to secure the championship. Dennis, who recently separated from Lisa, his wife of 22 years and mother of his three children, controls 15% of the McLaren Group, and according to reports, would be replaced by his deputy Martin Whitmarsh.
The reports come from Spanish sports newspaper Marca, which has been highly critical of McLaren since allegations began to surface of the team's mishandling of its ex-driver, Fernando Alonso. According to Marca, however, Vodafone McLaren Mercedes will be confirming the reports shortly.
[Source: F1-Live, Photo by Mark Thompson/Getty]
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
The Doctor @ Feb 27th 2008 11:12AM
As if I'd believe a Spanish newspaper on any story relating to McLaren. I'm surprised they didn't add that Dennis was standing down in order to take up his place at the right hand of the Devil...
andy @ Feb 27th 2008 11:16AM
what a load of ****** :)
1) Its a Spanish Paper 2) Its F1-Live 3) It doesnt contain the right facts.
While Ron may hold 15% now, he does control a larger percentage. Manseour Oijeh (TAG) and the Bahrain people own stock and they have an agreement to always go with Ron's decision.
I'd be VERY surprised if this happened.
tip - dont trust F1-Live, their are more reliable F1 websites out there.
Adam @ Feb 27th 2008 11:21AM
Out of curiosity, what f1 sites are better? I'm honestly looking for some better sources.
Serge K. @ Feb 27th 2008 11:29AM
To ADAM
This one is not bad:
http://msn.foxsports.com/motor/f1
Richard @ Feb 27th 2008 11:34AM
The "site of record" for Formula 1:
http://www.autosport.com/
Some parts require a subscription, but with sites like F1-Live, you get what you pay for...
Mike F. @ Feb 27th 2008 12:07PM
To Adam:
This is the best site for finding other related F1 items:
http://formulapod.com/
Also, their podcasts are AWESOME!
Al @ Feb 27th 2008 12:08PM
@ Adam
pitpass.com, grandprix.com, motorsport.com, f1.gpupdate.net, itv-f1.com
Galley @ Feb 27th 2008 12:13PM
GP Update has been my source for news since forever.
http://f1.gpupdate.net/en/
BPeredo @ Feb 27th 2008 2:03PM
Yep, http://f1.gpupdate.net/en/ is my favorite as well. Their articles are short and they provide updates frequently.
kipcarleton @ Feb 27th 2008 11:19AM
besides the fact that he owns a majority stake in the company (through agreements with the other owners, since ron does not by himself own a majority) but agreements with the other owners allow him majority support.... ron cannot be fired and he certainly hasnt quit...where does autoblog get this hogwash? ron just spent a year fortifying the prowess of one of the best racing teams on the planet in the face of the harshest public scrutiny and criticism one could ever imagine.
hogwash
andy @ Feb 27th 2008 11:33AM
better sites? Well I'm not sure I can plug another site on here, so please delete this post autoblog if it isn't right.
www.autosport.com is pretty good and feed's much of Speed TV's web content. They have a rumours section (called grapevine). GrandPrix.com isn't bad as well as it has some well respected jurnos inside the paddock - but they dont get everything right....and surprisingly itv-f1.com is good as well. I would also say crash.net is a good site - but they just posted this story(!)
cellularcoffee @ Feb 27th 2008 11:34AM
you can't trust the Spaniards. They're nothing but a bunch of racist pigs.
jgp @ Feb 27th 2008 12:20PM
I LOVE that irony!
gary @ Feb 27th 2008 11:34AM
Absolutely nothing about this on any F1 news site this morning, so it's most likely totally false.
Richard @ Feb 27th 2008 11:43AM
Oh! Yeah! Ron being sacked: not gonna happen.
Too bad about his marriage. I am afraid that he has lost the plot a bit after the tumult of last year and needs to reset his life's priorities - whoch shouldn't include beating the Scuderia at all costs!
IMHO
Gooch @ Feb 27th 2008 12:16PM
I saw this on another rumor-monger site, and as usual, even that site took the story as true.
Pat @ Feb 27th 2008 1:57PM
But I bet he doesn't get the irony !
MikeInNC @ Feb 27th 2008 1:01PM
Another vote for http://f1.gpupdate.net/en/
Richard Martin @ Feb 27th 2008 1:11PM
Any of these sites are reliable.
http://www.planet-f1.com/
http://www.itv-f1.com/News_Latest.aspx
http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/motorsport/formula_one/default.stm
http://www.f1minute.com/
Richard Martin @ Feb 27th 2008 1:34PM
Almost forgot this one:
www.formula1.com