Whitmarsh offers to step up amid McLaren crisis
- Published on 18 Jun 2018 11:52
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- By: Danny Sosef
Former team boss Martin Whitmarsh has offered to step in amid a reported staff revolt at McLaren. The Daily Mail reports that some McLaren staff, upset about the great British team's current troubles even after the end of the Honda era, have put together a delegation that is reaching out to Whitmarsh.
Whitmarsh stepped down as McLaren team boss in 2014, after 25 years with the Woking outfit.
"People at McLaren said they would send me a letter about the situation. I told them not to send it to me, but to (team shareholder) Mansour (Ojjeh)," Whitmarsh confirmed.
It is believed the disgruntled staff are upset about Eric Boullier's leadership following the latest performance slump, and Zak Brown's forays into the worlds of Le Mans and Indycar.
"I love the team and I am desperately sad to see what it has become," Whitmarsh continued. "It needs a big change of approach. There is too much politics between the main figures. I think a number of them have to go. I have explained my view to Mansour and it is for the shareholders to decide what to do."
Whitmarsh suggested he is siding with those staff who think that Brown in particular is spreading McLaren's interests too far beyond the F1 paddock.
"The team used to be all about winning in Formula One," he said. "McLaren going in (another) direction, rather than making Grand Prix racing their sole priority, makes me shudder."
Whitmarsh said it was the departure of Tim Goss that pushed him "over the edge" in support of a revolt.
"He was scapegoated," he said. "If a delegation showed up at my door, I wouldn't turn them away. They know where I am."
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Replies (16)
Login to reply2GRX7
Posts: 108
WOW! It doesn't get more out there in the open than this! Sad!
Major Tom
Posts: 152
Clearly everybody is deeply unhappy but the overwhelming problem is the design of the car - its just not fast enough. The design team must carry the can for that.
mpm001
Posts: 20
management is one thing, the design team is another, agree with your 100% the design team is at fault here not the management.
mcbhargav
Posts: 1,332
After 3 years, its apparent that, Zak and Eric are not the guys. I question the capability of Mansour for his string of poor decisions.
Bhurt
Posts: 320
The entertainment just never stops from Team Clown.
ajpennypacker
Posts: 2,475
Damn Martín... You really think this is gonna work for you don't you? I mean why else put up a show like this?
calle.itw
Posts: 8,527
They should never have dumped Goss. But McLaren diverting resources from F1 at a time like this is nonsensical, it shouldnt be. Ferrari can afford it, Mercedes can afford it, Red Bull can afford it. McLaren cannot. And while the car is indeed suboptimal, lets be real here: the situation hasnt been managed properly.
ajpennypacker
Posts: 2,475
I like Goss and still don't quite get why he left or was fired. However, I do know with certainty that the initial decline of McLaren happened entirely during Martin's watch. I like Martin a lot. Especially since he replaced Ron and the atmosphere seemed a lot better. But he was the man when McLaren dropped from a winning team to a mediocre team. It seems highly suspicious for him to come out publicly with this. Furthermore, it's classless and unsavory.
calle.itw
Posts: 8,527
Yes, it wouldnt surprise me if he, as Whitmarsh implied, was a scapegoat. And while I agree that the decline begun under Whitmarsh'es era, it doesnt mean it is related to him, or that it would've gone this poorly had he remained in charge. Either way, I dont think McLaren's current poor performance can be explained by poor leadership, but their face outwards certainly can be, and at this rate is has become a problem for them. As I've said before, I dont think they are doing a bad job, but their arrogant talk worsens it from mediocre to poor. So reemploying Whitmarsh will likely not fix the performance, and may or may not improve team atmosphere and image. As you say, I dont like this move, things like this should happen on the other side of the curtain, but maybe it is that bad that he feels a need to vent it? It could be him basically warning Boullier and co of ongoing discontent (Yeah, I dont think so, but could be).
RogerF1
Posts: 501
AJP that’s my recollection as well and the team has never recovered. Can’t imagine how difficult it must be inside McLren F1 to maintain a positive attitude so long without a win, just like with Williams. I used to regularly visit McLaren Automotive as a supplier and shared in the sense of pride that enthused through the whole company. Really want them to turn this around again but not sure this is the answer.
ajpennypacker
Posts: 2,475
@Calle @RogerF1 I think there's plenty of scapegoating going on, but it's being done more by fans rather than Mclaren. I agree that they made things incredibly worst with bold talk of wins and podiums. However, seems that after a couple of GPs they've toned it done to normal levels. You don't hear them making bold predictions anymore do you? Also, I'd say that outside of the F1 team, Mclaren's image has never been better. Their road cars are selling at record levels, good reviews across the board, expanding their racing footprint, etc.
As mentioned before, McLaren is already have collected 85% of the total points from 2017 and we're not even half way through the season. McLaren has improved massively, the problem has been the absurd standards and expectations management created; and of course you also have history. McLaren exists to win. All of these fighting for 8th and 7th places is hard to swallow. But let's not lose perspective. The team is not going from winning 6 races in a year to not even scoring podiums like it happened from 2012 to 2014 still with a Mercedes engine. McLaren is on course to score more points this year than in 2013 (121 pts).
Bhurt
Posts: 320
@AJP - they only make bold nonsensical statements in the off-season. Once the season starts and their car is shown to be mediocre, they shift into excuse-mode. They'll cycle back into making bold and ridiculous statements once we're back in off-season mode. Their 2019 car will have surpassed all predictions and benchmarks heading into 2019 pre-seasons testing. Just watch.
calle.itw
Posts: 8,527
Yeah, as BHURT says, McLaren has entered what the game industry refers to as the Molyneux cycle: perpetual excuses and promising the next will be much better, nay superior to anything else. But its true that McLaren's car division has a great reputation currently, as it should, but that does sadly not help its F1 case. As I've said, I never went into this season expecting wins, I dont think anyone truly did, but since they promised wins and podiums they've caused some of this mess themselves.
BENNY DONKER
Posts: 1,976
The best thing would be to fire Boullier immediately.
Ram Samartha
Posts: 1,172
Fire the lot and let Whitmarsh start a team. Otherwise shut up and get back to work. People forget that McLaren was doing terrible before Whitmarsh left.
Major Tom
Posts: 152
Yer. Because he was so successful last time!