LONDON (AP) – Ron Dennis, the veteran head of the McLaren Formula One team, has been forced out following a boardroom dispute.
The announcement on Tuesday brings to an end Dennis’ 36-year stay with the British team, relinquishing his position as chairman and chief executive of one of Formula One’s most successful teams.
Dennis attacked the “entirely spurious” reasons for the decision.
“I am disappointed that the representatives of TAG and Mumtalakat, the other main shareholders in McLaren, have forced through this decision to place me on gardening leave, despite the strong warnings from the rest of the management team about the potential consequences of their actions on the business,” Dennis said in a statement. “The grounds they have stated are entirely spurious; my management style is the same as it has always been and is one that has enabled McLaren to become an automotive and technology group that has won 20 Formula One world championships and grown into an 850 million-pound ($1 billion) a year business.
“Throughout that time I have worked closely with a series of talented colleagues to keep McLaren at the cutting edge of technology, to whom I will always be extremely grateful.”