Ron Dennis Won’t Return To F1 Paddock, Mutes TV Coverage

Ron Dennis says the British television coverage of Formula 1 is so bad that he watches races with the sound muted.

After being pushed from control and co-ownership of the McLaren team he led for decades in 2017, he took some of the reported $350 million he received to buy a luxurious estate on the River Thames in Berkshire, England.

Now 77, he told The Times newspaper that he will never return to F1.

“You can imagine I’ve got children and grandchildren, and they’re pestering me about going (to a race),” said Dennis. “I will arrange it for them but I won’t go.

“People are polite, they will sit you down, they will give you a coffee, but you’ve got nothing to offer,” he added. “You are a spare part and I would never want to be in that position. I’ve got better things to do.”

Among those ‘better things’ are interests in various business ventures and philanthropic activities, although he does sit down on Sundays to watch races on television.

However, he said, “I always turn the sound off, as I know too much about it to want to listen to the rubbish that some of these commentators come out with.

“I watch for the purity of the race,” Dennis added. “I do love sport, still love watching Grand Prix.”

Sky Sports’ UK coverage of Formula 1 is spearheaded by lead commentator David Croft and former McLaren driver Martin Brundle, including other personalities such as Naomi Schiff, Bernie Collins, Ted Kravitz and more.