Dennis has no fears for McLaren's future

Monday 16th November 2009

McLaren Group boss Ron Dennis is confident his company's F1 team will continue to thrive despite losing the back of Mercedes-Benz.

Mercedes announced on Monday that they would no longer hold a 40 percent stake in McLaren, instead switching to Brawn GP after buying 75.1 percent of the team that they will rebranded Mercedes Grand Prix.

But despite ending that side of their relationship with McLaren, the German carmaker will continue to supply McLaren with engines until 2015.

And although this means McLaren will no longer have the financial backing of Mercedes, Dennis firmly believes his F1 team won't suffer as a result.

"This is a win-win situation, for both McLaren and Daimler," Dennis said.

"I've often stated that it's my belief that, in order to survive and thrive in 21st-century Formula 1, a team must become much more than merely a team.

"That being the case, in order to develop and sustain the revenue streams required to compete and win grands prix and World Championships, companies that run Formula 1 teams must broaden the scope of their commercial activities.

"Nonetheless, all of our partners will of course continue to play a crucial role in our Formula 1 programme. For that reason, and because the engines they produce are very competitive, we're delighted that Mercedes-Benz has committed to continue not only as an engine supplier but also as a partner of ours until 2015 - and perhaps thereafter.

"Formula 1 will always be a core activity, for sound business reasons as well as for historical sporting reasons: to be clear, our Formula 1 business has traditionally enjoyed great financial security, largely as a consequence of the longevity of our contracts with our partners, many of which have exceeded 15 years of continuous involvement with McLaren. Indeed, two of our partners have been with us for more than 25 years."

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