I dislike periods of dominance in F1 by one car or team. When one team gains a big advantage over the rest or a particular driver starts winning all the races, F1 becomes boring, predictable and hardly worth watching. In fact, the only reason for continued viewing is the forlorn hope that something will go wrong for the usual winner so that someone else can make it to the top step of the podium.
Ron with his latest champion
Whether I would feel differently if it were my favorite team or driver that was doing all the winning is debatable; I like to think that, after the first few wins, I would be just as desperate for someone else to take a victory or two. But I cannot say for certain since I have never been on the side of a consistent winner - all my favorites have been underdogs and have had to fight tooth and nail for their occasional championships.
Until Ron Dennis took over McLaren with his MP4 outfit, I was quite kindly disposed towards the team. Under Teddy Mayer it was quite likable, almost cuddly at times, winning occasionally but never dominating, then going into gradual decline as the great years of the M23 drifted into history. Ground effect killed off Teddy's chances for a return to greatness, his designers never seeming to master the art, and it was only the continued presence of the unpredictable John Watson that prevented us dismissing their chances completely.
Then along came Big Ron and everything changed. He and his star designer, John Barnard, transformed Mclaren into the best-organized team on the grid and within a year they started to win races. When the TAG-Porsche engine came along and Alain Prost was teamed with Niki Lauda, McLaren became unbeatable and I started to dislike the team accordingly. As the architect of this revival, Ron Dennis became the bogeyman, the nasty man who destroyed competition in F1 with his steam roller efficiency. The best engine, the best designers, the best drivers, that was Ron's recipe for success and I hated the fact that it worked.
Yet my attitude was irrational; F1 is about competition and, if one team has better answers than do the others, its success is deserved. It is up to the rest to come up to the new standard, rather than hope that misfortune befalls the victor. In time, other teams, most notably Williams, Benetton and Ferrari, learned the lesson and could compete with McLaren for the spoils. And this has been Ron's legacy to F1 - he has made it more professional, more serious, more respectable than ever before. The humor and haphazardness of the Teddy Mayer years will do no longer; now you must get your act together or perish.
Much has been lost as a result but just as much gained. McLaren may have brought unsmiling, professional efficiency to the sport at the cost of the silly jokes and duct tape engineering, but it has also established its claim to be the pinnacle of motor sport. This is the achievement of Ron Dennis, the once-mechanic turned team owner. We may be amused by his unique way of expressing himself, criticize his management of drivers and deplore his apparent lack of humor but there is no doubt that he has built the most effective F1 team of the last 25 years. He deserves respect for that, at least.
But I submit that there is more to him that is worthy of due honor. As I have written before, Ron has shown a measure of integrity and decency that is rare amongst leaders today. Through all the troubles that beset McLaren over the last two years, Ron remained restrained and honorable, refusing to be drawn into a slanging match with his detractors. Compare his public statements with Bernie Ecclestone's pathetic inference this week that Sir Jackie Stewart is going senile and it can be seen how exceptional and necessary is the good example set by Ron's common sense and restraint at times of enormous pressure.
As Ron steps back from leadership of the McLaren F1 team, it would be good if we were to remember how great an influence on the sport he has been. He may be detested in some quarters but largely that is as a result of his success coupled with old world standards of behavior - envy is an unforgiving enemy. Martin Whitmarsh has some enormous boots to fill.