06/07/2015
NEWS STORY
Ron Dennis has hit back at Eddie Jordan following criticism from the team owner turned TV pundit.
Known for his outspokenness - amongst other things - Jordan hit out at the Woking team and its boss ahead of the Silverstone weekend, accusing the team of being "arrogant" and Dennis doing a bad job of running it.
"You can say Honda is a mess, but so are McLaren," said Jordan in a BBC Sport Q&A. "They have been a shadow of their former selves since they arrogantly stated that Lewis Hamilton would rue the day he left McLaren. Look how that has rebounded on them.
"That arrogance is still there at the top of McLaren," he continued. "They are hopelessly off the pace and anyone who thinks it is just the engine is deluding themselves. The engine is a lot of it, but there are lots of other issues there.
"I personally think the day McLaren started building road cars was the day they took their eye off the ball in F1, and I will be surprised if they ever come close to winning titles again while that road car programme is still going and while the current management structure is in place.
"Ron Dennis sacked Martin Whitmarsh, but Whitmarsh never did the job of running that team as badly as Dennis is doing it now," concluded the Irishman.
Responding to Jordan's comments, Dennis made no secret of how highly he values the Irishman's opinion.
"I consider Formula One a family, and families live in villages," he told Sky Sports F1. "And villages always have a village idiot. He fits the bill perfectly."