15/12/2017
NEWS STORY
Never one to hide his light under a bushel, McLaren's executive director Zak Brown does not come across as the sort of man to go in for motivational nik-nacks.
In other words, we doubt very much if the American has a placard in his office that reads: 'What would Ron do?'
Therefore it comes as a surprise to learn that Brown has cited Ron Dennis when asked about the decision to part company with Honda.
In an interview with Rachel Brookes for Sky Sports F1, when asked about the decision to finally terminate the partnership with Honda after three unsuccessful years, a move which sees the Woking outfit turn its back on the Japanese manufacturer's money and become a pay customer of Renault, Brown claims that Dennis would have most likely reached the same decision.
"I think he would have," insists the American. "He was here when those conversations were ongoing and I think Ron always has and always will have the best interests of McLaren in his heart, he is Mr McLaren. It burns him inside as much as us not to see us winning races."
Indeed, whereas Brown is an employee of the Woking team, Dennis invested his money and forty-odd years of his life in the company.
In the second year of the much-anticipated re-partnering Dennis still spoke passionately of his belief that things would come good, blissfully unaware that his own relationship with McLaren would end before that with Honda.
Since his 'departure', and subsequent severing of all ties with the team, Dennis has been almost airbrushed from its history, until, days before Christmas, and Brown invokes the ghost of Woking past.
And while we are more likely to hear talk from Woking of Fernando Alonso's latest extra-curricular racing adventure than Brown's success in finding a title sponsor, it really does seem odd that the American should choose to cite "Mr McLaren".
Then again, the more sceptical might feel that in effectively claiming "it's what Ron would have done", should the move to Renault disappoint and Honda finally get its act together, albeit with Toro Rosso (and Red Bull), Brown will have 'put it out there' that the move was entirely in keeping with what The Ronster would have done.
Slick move Zak.