WOKING, England — Ron Dennis is stepping down as team principal of the McLaren Formula One racing team and handing over to Martin Whitmarsh.
Winner of seven constructors' titles with the team, Dennis helped Niki Lauda, Alain Prost, Mika Hakkinen, Ayrton Senna and Lewis Hamilton win 10 world drivers' championships.
The 61-year-old Dennis, who has been team principal since 1981, said Friday he would step down on March 1 but will stay on in his other roles with the McLaren group.
"It's time for Martin to take over as team principal," he said. "On March 1 he will adopt that responsibility. I will still go to races but not all of them because I am passionate about Formula One."
Whitmarsh is McLaren's head of operations, having joined the team in 1989.
Ron Dennis to step down as McLaren F1 team principal....
Mercedes-Benz is interested in buying the remainder of McLaren, team chief executive Martin Whitmarsh has admitted at Hockenheim.
On the verge of the German manufacturer's home race, Whitmarsh confirmed the constant speculation about McLaren's long-time partner wanting to up its share from the current 40%.
McLaren teamed up with the Stuttgart manufacturer in 1995, and Mercedes-Benz is now the only carmaker on the grid that does not own its team outright.
"It's an interesting issue and a dilemma that faces the shareholders of this business - and to some extent the management," Whitmarsh told the International Herald Tribune newspaper.
Mercedes wants to buy McLaren....
