Comments on: Ron Dennis on how the Hamilton-Alonso row compared to Senna and Prost

By: Jonathan

Jonathan — Thu, 15 Jan 2009 10:58:59 +0000

“Perhaps Ron didn’t end up finishing 2007 with the same plan he started with, is all I’m saying.”

Just like I’m sure that Ferrari didn’t end up finishing 2008 with the same plan they started with – In this sport it has always been the case that you have to pick a point in the second half of the season where you decide which of your drivers has the best chance of winning the title. During most of the second half of 2007 Hamilton was ahead of Alonso on points.

By: Chaz

Chaz — Tue, 13 Jan 2009 22:23:07 +0000

I’ve always admired Ron. Seldom do you find someone so passionate focused and determined who is constantly under so much unrelenting pressure. However, Coulthard seemed to indicate in an interview in 2008 that there may not have been equality between him and Hakkinen, so I guess it’s in the eye of the beholder.

I think Ron should be honest enough to at least acknowledge that one sometimes prefers certain personalities and therefore this can be misunderstood. We are all human after all…

By: Too Good

Too Good — Tue, 13 Jan 2009 17:02:50 +0000

Really? The man who won championships with Lauda, Prost, Senna, Hakkinen and Hamilton is not entitled to share his thoughts on managing superstars?

Probably yes he should share them, so others can understand – How Not to Handle Drivers. Well Of course there is Berger/Toast Combo, who can jump to grab throats of their drivers, they can share more insights of how management should handle drivers as well

By: NDINYO

NDINYO — Tue, 13 Jan 2009 14:28:04 +0000

Looks like discussions about Alonso vs Hamilton, Ferrari vs McLaren are much more calm and rational during the off season – maybe the Influence-PR types are off duty as well. Whatever the reason, i wish this kind of sober calm discussion could be maintained throughout the year.

By: Alianora La Canta

Alianora La Canta — Mon, 12 Jan 2009 18:07:42 +0000

I have a feeling that the Alonso/Hamilton situation was largely caused by Ron thinking he was getting two different drivers to the ones he got. To be fair, this was largely because at the time of signing, neither driver had demonstrated the traits that would cause so much difficulty in 2007 (Alonso’s habit of cracking when a team-mate beats him, Hamilton’s quick adaptation to F1 and both their tendencies to speak first and think later when microphones are around). Added to the Ferrari/McLaren mess, which Ron couldn’t possibly have predicted prior to 2007 and contributed to the poisoning of the Alonso/Dennis-and-McLaren relationship, and you have a picture of a pairing where the biggest problem was the lack of a crystal ball. I don’t think any team principal would have made a particularly good job of managing that particular scenario.

Senna/Prost was quite different. I thought Ron made a good job of that one, but that the drivers themselves could have helped him a bit by not trying to tear each other to bits at every opportunity. On that occasion, the information was there, so Ron could plan, but the problem was that the two drivers needed each other to do their best but couldn’t stand being teamed up after the first few months…

By: Adrian

Adrian — Mon, 12 Jan 2009 16:44:32 +0000

Let’s be honest, Ron Dennis has had more success than many of us can even dream of. Okay, maybe he didn’t handle 2007 as well as he should have or could have, but that doesn’t make him a bad manager.

By: Keith Collantine

Keith Collantine — Mon, 12 Jan 2009 15:49:12 +0000

is certainly not Eligible to talk about Handling superstars and superdrivers 1st place

Really? The man who won championships with Lauda, Prost, Senna, Hakkinen and Hamilton is not entitled to share his thoughts on managing superstars? I beg to differ. Has any other team manager taken as many different drivers to world championships over a comparable period of time? Probably only Enzo Ferrari I would suspect. And his management style was never short of critics either.

By: ninguen

ninguen — Mon, 12 Jan 2009 14:46:29 +0000

I think Ron hired them both on the inital understanding that Nando was the champ, and that Lewis was the understudy. But when Lewis proved to be a match for Nando, then whose to say that Ron’s plans and ideas didn’t change? Why wouldn’t you want to have the kudos of the first ever rookie to win the WDC be your rookie? Goals change, dreams change, people change. Perhaps Ron didn’t end up finishing 2007 with the same plan he started with, is all I’m saying.

I´m in much agreement with pink peril and i extract the same conclusion, the manager that didn´t know to manage the situation was the final responsible. All the rest for me seems a very cynic situation, nor the situation senna/prost doesn´t look very similar to me and the equality he predicates doesn´t seem to apply to the situations seen on his team every year, and i´m not looking to 2007 at all

By: Too Good

Too Good — Mon, 12 Jan 2009 13:11:51 +0000

@Pink Peril - Well said there, Macca was my 2nd favorite team after Williams. but kind of unprofessionalism they showed in wrapping up 2006 campaign without even giving the KR and JPM enough chance to fight left me with bitter taste.

The contrast of Dennis’s Body language on FA and LH’s victories in 2007 season trashed whatever sense of fairplay Mr Dennis claims.

As I mentioned before he failed as a manager when he was not able to handle egos of both LH and FA, as such is certainly not Eligible to talk about Handling superstars and superdrivers 1st place

Keith – The story is not about FA and LH, and what FA can handle and can’t.Its about Ron Dennis giving “I know all” talk about Prost/Senna vs FA/LH row

By: Antifia

Antifia — Mon, 12 Jan 2009 08:54:56 +0000

So funny to see people say that Hamilton “beat” Alonso. They finnished with the same number of points! And Hamilton was so obviously favored that it takes a fan not to see it. I’d mention the copied setups (no Keith, it is not forbiden, but it is part of a driver’s set of skills that LH did not possess and Alonso did – and had to share). I’d also mention Turkey, when Mclaren appealed against its own driver (Alonso) to favor the other (Hamilton). Or worse, China, when Ron actually said that “we (supposedly Hamilton and Mclaren) were racing Alonso, not Kimi”. But it is the lack of pace of Alonso’s car after Turkey (when, it must be said, the Spaniard threatened to sing to the FIA) that makes it clear that he was being scr****d by his team. Anyway, Mclaren bet on the wrong horse and lost. Punishment from the gods for being so disingenuous about equal treatment. They dropped the farse this year and won the championship.