THE FACTS

Former team principal Ron Dennis has given current boss Martin Whitmarsh quite a pat on the back. Dennis lauded his successor for being more deft at handling the fragile relationship between two World Champion drivers competing on the same team.

Dennis - who ran McLaren from 1981 through the start of 2009 - arbitrated relationships between such greats as Alain Prost and Ayrton Senna in 1988 and 1989 and between Lewis Hamilton and Fernando Alonso in 2007. Many consider these driver relationships to have been some of the most caustic and dysfunctional in Formula 1 history.

Dennis' personality - which lends itself to micromanagement and total control - also clashed with free-spirit Kimi Raikkonen. After several failed attempts to secure a World Championship with McLaren, The Ice Man proceeded to nip the Woking team and lift the title trophy in his first season with Ferrari in 2007.

Given this checkered past, many wondered if Whitmarsh could handle the relationship between Lewis Hamilton and Jenson Button - the two most recent F1 World Champions at the start of 2010. Somewhat against the odds, the relationship between Hamilton and Button has worked out well for both drivers. Dennis credits his former protégé for inspiring and fostering this positive relationship.

“Managing the co-habitation of two world champions is often a challenge,” the 63-year-old told French magazine F1i. “I have tried it a few times. Martin is perhaps showing himself to be better than me at that role.”

Whitmarsh's desire and ability to appease parties with often diverging interests has made him a perfect fit as Chairman of the Formula 1 Teams' Association - a job that he will likely retain for some time. This should help to develop a new governing Concorde Agreement set to take effect at the end of 2012.

MY TAKE

I can give credit to Whitmarsh for creating an environment at McLaren where Lewis and Jenson can get along. But there was some trouble in paradise. At Istanbul we saw Lewis irate with his teammate when Jenson overtook the 2008 World Champ despite the team's assurances that he would not do so. Also - instead of taking out much of his early frustration on Jenson - Lewis just lambasted his team and engineers. Thus, much more could be going on behind the scenes than we know about. But - if nothing else - Whitmarsh has done a better job than Dennis at keeping it behind closed doors.

In every other aspect, Whitmarsh is only a pale reflection of his mentor Dennis. Most conspicuously, McLaren completely lost the in-season development battle to both Red Bull and Ferrari in 2010. This would have never happened with Dennis at the helm. Also, it seemed that whenever Dennis was in attendance at a race, the team got a boost and gave a bit more effort. Just his presence appeared to give - at least Hamilton - a few tenths on some lap times. Whitmarsh lacks that same inspirational charisma.

In the end, what is wrong with a little in-team driver rivalry? I think that it can be a good thing. These drivers thrive on competition and none of them will be happy unless they are beating the other. A bit of tension is not only to be expected, but is healthy. At times, I thought that the cute "we're just great pals" routine between Lewis and Jenson this past season took some of the edge off of the team and the sport. It made McLaren almost - dare I say - boring. It was much more interesting to watch Webber and Vettel's bad romance at Red Bull. Oh, and they also won both World Titles.

When I think of Martin Whitmarsh I think of a skilled tactician, a calm administrator and a classy guy. All very laudable traits. But when I think of Ron Dennis I think of only one thing - a winner. In Formula 1, is there any higher praise than that?

Just my take.

SOURCES

CRASH.NET - Dennis: Whitmarsh Better At Managing Driver Relationships

 

Well said, Dana. I agree with you for the most part but I think Whitmarsh did a pretty damn good job this past year and will continue to do a better job as time goes on.