Ron Dennis will step down as the principal of Formula One team McLaren on March 1, making way for long-serving deputy Martin Whitmarsh.
But Dennis, one of the best-known figures in the sport, insisted he was not retiring and would remain intimately involved with the team as they attempt to defend the drivers championship won by Lewis Hamilton last year.
The surprise announcement came as McLaren unveiled their new car for the 2009 season at the team’s headquarters.
Dennis, 62, has run McClaren since 1981 and helped to transform what was then an uncompetitive team into one of the leading forces in Formula One with legendary drivers Nikki Lauda, Alain Prost and Ayrton Senna winning multiple titles in the 1980s and 1990s.
The last decade has been a relatively lean period for the team but McLaren returned to the top when Hamilton secured their first drivers’ championship since 1999 with a dramatic final-race triumph in Brazil.
Dennis has played a central role in Hamilton’s rise to become the first non-white Formula One champion and the driver paid tribute to his mentor.
“I met him when I was ten years old, he has had a huge impact on my life and we are very close friends,” Hamilton said while stressing that he expected Dennis to remain very involved on a day-to-day basis.
“Ron is a huge part of the team,” Hamilton added.
“He has got racing in his blood so he will never leave the team.
“The great thing is we have got great people in the team. It is a huge team, and we are very powerful together.
“It is not as if when he steps down we are going to struggle. We are very, very fortunate that we will stay a strong team.”
While Whitmarsh takes over as team principal, Dennis retains his role as executive chairman of the McLaren Group of companies.
“It’s time for Martin to take over,” Dennis said. “Do not think of this as a retirement, I will be working harder than ever.
“I will still be a full executive chairman. In practice it is a job (the principal’s) that we have shared for years.
“I will still go to races but not all of them because I am passionate about Formula One.”
Dennis’s announcement came after Hamilton had voiced confidence about his ability to successfully defend his title in the team’s new car, the MP4-24.
“I don’t see the fact that I am world champion will add to the pressure on my shoulders for next season,” Hamilton said.
“I’ve obviously a little bit of extra confidence and I’ve reset my goals, reset my targets back to when I started out in Formula One and that’s to be world champion.
“That’s not me sitting here saying, ‘I am world champion’, I am sitting here saying, ‘I want to be world champion’.”
The car Hamilton will be sitting in throughout the upcoming season has come straight from the drawing board after a raft of new technological regulations were put in place.
Featuring heavily-revised bodywork, re-sculpted front and rear wings, slick tyres and a kinetic energy recovery system (KERS), the young world champion will face an entirely different driving experience in 2009.
“This is the first time I’ve seen it but I think it looks very elegant,” said Hamilton.
“It’s different with the smaller wings at the back.
“It’s great to see the result of all the hard work that’s gone on.”
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