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LONDON - Ron Dennis will decide for himself whether to stay on as McLaren team principal this season or hand over to designated heir Martin Whitmarsh, team sources said.
They denied there was any pressure from engine partners Mercedes, who own 40 per cent of the Formula One team, amid media reports of an imminent decision by the 60-year-old Briton.
Whitmarsh, currently McLaren chief executive, told Monday's Guardian newspaper that for the moment all the talk was mere speculation.
"I certainly think we need to stem the tide of the 'Ron has had it' coverage which we've seen in some sections of the media recently," he said.
"It's entirely, and I emphasise entirely, his decision if he decides he will have a change of role.
"There's no pressure either on me or from me," added Whitmarsh.
"I've been at McLaren for 19 years and am incredibly patient. Nor do I intend to be the Judas who knifed Ron in the back."
Dennis has already handed over much of the day-to-day running of the team to Whitmarsh and has talked in the past about his desire to stand back.
Last year was a nightmare for him, with McLaren fined a record $100 million and stripped of all their constructors' points for a spy saga involving leaked Ferrari data.
Dennis, who also announced last month he was separating from his wife Lisa after 22 years of marriage, was recently questioned by an Italian magistrate investigating the Ferrari controversy.
Britain's Sunday Times newspaper reported that Dennis, who owns 15 per cent of McLaren, was looking to spend more time with his three children and was likely to make a decision later in the week.
Famed for his obsessive attention to detail, Dennis started out in Formula One as a mechanic with Cooper in 1966 and was later chief mechanic at Brabham.
In 1980, the Briton took control of the then-struggling team founded by the late New Zealander Bruce McLaren. They have since won 132 races, seven constructors' championships and nine drivers' crowns.
Their last was with Finland's Mika Hakkinen in 1999.
- REUTERS
