02/02/2015
NEWS STORY
The Ferrari might be "sexy", but the McLaren MP4-30 has the better figure, according to Ron Dennis.
Whilst the McLaren mechanics sought the "niggly" problem that was compromising Fernando Alonso's running, and the Woking PR machine was figuring how best to put a positive spin on things, Ron Dennis was holding a rare 'meet the media' event.
In amongst the usual Ronspeak, which has come to be endearing as well as annoying, he heaped praise on the design of the MP4-30, even if it didn't appear to be going anywhere soon.
"The rear bodywork of our new car has been brilliantly shrink-wrapped around a fantastically advanced and incredibly compact Honda power unit," he said. "We've even invented a new phrase to describe its design philosophy: 'the size-zero F1 car'."
This just days after Maurizio Arrivabene described the new Ferrari - charged with wining just two races this season - as "sexy".
Whilst his team took to Twitter (where else?) to ask fans whether they would prefer a red and white (Marlboro style) livery or delve even further back in the team's history and revert to the (Gulf Oil) orange of the Bruce and Denny Gulf era, Dennis admitted his frustration at the constant clamour for a new look.
"We've got the same thing inside (McLaren), said the man whose middle name is Corporate. "You've got people who say 'Why don't we make it orange?', and I say, 'Why?' 'That was the old colour of McLaren', they reply.
"Why the hell do we want to go backwards?" he thundered. "What do you do? Do you create an aesthetically pleasing design? For what purpose?
"This is the livery of McLaren," he insisted, "it's always been a combination of these colours, and it will only change for commercial reasons. It won't change just to make a few people in the company happier because they want it orange, or they want it yellow.
"We tried to put a bit more of our real colour, which is day-glo… fluorescent red is our colour. We've got more heritage in fluorescent red than any other colour. But again what I prefer to do is put a stylish design and as we evolve. It will be far more recognised if we suddenly come out with a light green car for the following reason, you'll all go, yeah they've got a big amount of money coming in."
When it was pointed out that the (silver) colour of the car seemingly reflects previous partner Mercedes as opposed to new partner Honda, he snapped back: "The car's got a minimal amount of mirroring on it, I wouldn't even call it silver.
"You're voicing an opinion which lots of people voice, in the company, on Twitter, everything," he continued. "But that's a problem without a solution. Yes we could change colour, yes we could do something more daring, we could all these things, but give me a reason why? And if it's just to be aesthetically more pleasing, that's not enough reason to me."
Nonetheless, he subsequently admitted that a livery change might yet be considered, though this would be more about the signing of a major sponsor as opposed to bowing to pressure from the Twittersphere.
Meanwhile, the PR machine did a valiant job in summing up a day which saw Alonso complete just 6 laps. "After a successful fire-up, the morning was spent conducting a number of single-lap installation runs, which were gradually increased in length, concluding in a three-lap run at lunchtime," said the team in its official summary of the day's (in)action.