McLaren may bear the name of its eponymous founder Bruce McLaren, but its modern history has been shaped by Ron Dennis. That era, however, looks like it’s about to come to an end.
Autosport reports that Ron Dennis will not have his contract as chairman renewed once it expires at the end of this year – now less than a month and a half away. The company, however, denies that any such change is afoot.
Dennis originally served as head of the F1 team from 1982 (when it merged with his Project 4 racing team) through 2009 when he stepped back from its day-to-day leadership, then returned to the group’s chairmanship at the beginning of 2014.
He was reportedly working to consolidate his ownership (currently resting at 25 percent) of the company by acquiring shares from fellow stakeholder Mansour Ojjeh (who also holds 25 percent) and the government of Bahrain (which holds the other 50 percent), but has apparently failed to raise the necessary capital for a buyout.
With the F1 team (still the core of the company) struggling to regain its once winning form, the other shareholders have apparently lost confidence in Dennis’ leadership. Just who would replace him remains to be seen, but group COO Jonathan Neale would be a smart bet. The company also recently brought in Jost Capito to head up the racing department, while the applied technologies and automotive divisions have their own CEOs.
McLaren Automotive, the group entity responsible for its road-going supercars, is not expected to be directly affected by any change in leadership in the umbrella organization.
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