Post
by Miss Jones » Mon Mar 08, 2004 2:46 pm
Ron Dennis will hold crisis talks at Woking tomorrow. I can't help but picture Dennis as David Brent from The Office:
""I know it looks sh*t now but we're on schedule to add cauliflower and stilton soup to the automatic soup dispenser in the Technology Centre. So, that's a bit of good news for you, isn't it?"
Heikki Kulta's article about the leadership problems at McLaren best explain the current crisis. A classic case of too many cooks spoil the broth.
Not only are there too many chiefs and not enough Indians, the chiefs seem to be either reluctant or incompetent. Or both.
Ron Dennis said in 2001 that he wanted to retire "very soon" (see March issue of F1 Racing which also has the Mika feature). He now says that he couldn't because he felt the team still needed him. Because he wasn't focused on racing, he poured all of his energies into the Paragon project. Martin Whitmarsh (aka The Incompetent) was put in charge of the racing team and the MP4-18 was his baby. Whitmarsh is another inside thinker so will not admit to error, and Dennis will not admit that putting Whitmarsh at the helm was a bad idea.
In addition, McLaren took one of its diamonds in the form of designer Adrian Newey, took away his hands-on responsibilities, and made him a man-manager. Newey now overseas the design team, which is in turn sub-managed by three different people who all disagree with each other about basic design principles! Newey, who really can design a good car, now spends his time trying to avoid meetings and confrontation with his sub-managers.
Poaching Werner Laurenz from BMW was seen as a major breakthrough for McLaren, but this has also been a disaster. Mario Ilien and Laurenz detest each other (that's putting it mildly) and cannot, will not, work together.
McLaren and Mercedes are as stubborn as they come. One example of this is the beryllium engine development. Something that is still ongoing despite the FIA ban. Another case of inside thinking - the team refuses to accept that this episode is over, it won't work out, instead they stubbornly keep plugging away at something that is doomed to failure instead of pouring their energies into something that could win them races. Exactly the same as they did for the -18, now -19.
As Flavio Briatore said yesterday "only the stupid can't admit they are wrong."
Briatore was talking about the new qualifying format, and there is at least a bit of good news here. According to reports, the format will be changed, possibly before Malaysia and possibly back to the pre-2003 format.
Because something is happening here, but you don't know what it is, do you, Mister Jones?