Ron Dennis to retire?

Ron Dennis could be set to retire from his chairman and CEO positions at McLaren following the expiry of his current contract.

That is the claim of Autosport, who say that Dennis was unable to secure additional financial backing to take full control of the company.

Dennis, who took control of McLaren in 1980, is a 25% shareholder, along with with Bahrani sovereign wealth fund Mumtalakat (50%), and Mansour Ojjeh (25%), but has been attempting to take full control of the company which also includes road car manufacturing and electronics businesses.

However, when pressed by Autosport about the speculation, a McLaren spokesman refuted claims that Dennis was on his way out.

"In response to your question, Ron Dennis responded by stating categorically that he is not stepping down," he said. "Moreover, he remains contracted as chairman and chief executive officer of McLaren Technology Group, and he retains a 25% shareholding in the Group - exactly equal to that of Mansour Ojjeh."

"Over many years, many decades in fact, McLaren shareholders have often entered into dialogue on the subject of potential equity movements and realignments, and Ron and Mansour have always been central to those discussions," the spokesman added. "That is still the case. Their recent conversations can therefore be categorised as 'more of the same'.

"However, it would be inappropriate to reveal further details of such discussions, which are of course private and confidential."