King Charles honors ex-McLaren boss Ron Dennis with knighthood

Ron Dennis was team principal of McLaren for over 30 years, taking the team to major success in the late nineties and early 2000s.

King Charles honors ex-McLaren boss Ron Dennis with knighthood

Ron Dennis and King Charles (Via IMAGO)

Ron Dennis can be considered one of the most influential figures to ever be involved with Formula One. The Briton was instrumental in McLaren’s success, even founding the world-famous car manufacturer of the same name after taking control of their F1 team.

Ron Dennis was involved with the United Kingdom government after his exit from F1, and was awarded a CBE for his contribution to motor racing. In 2023, King Charles was awarded the prestigious honor of knighthood to the 76-year-old.

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Red Bull team principal Christian Horner is currently experiencing the same level of success Dennis did in his prime, winning a dominant championship in 2023. For his services, Horner was awarded a CBE in the honors list for 2023.

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Dennis has stayed in touch with F1 despite being outsed from his longtime squad McLaren in 2016. Dennis has continued to talk about McLaren’s internal affairs, recently talking about Fernando Alonso and Lewis Hamilton’s time as teammates.

Former McLaren sporting director dies on-track while racing with son

Gil de Ferran was the sporting director for McLaren in the early 2000s under Rod Dennis, helping the team recover from their backmarker status in 2018. De Ferran was a former British Formula Three and CART champion, winning the CART title twice.

Gil de Ferran via IMAGO

On 29th December, de Ferran was racing with his son Luke on a private course when he began feeling uncomfortable. The 56-year-old was found to be suffering from a heart attack and was unable to be revived. De Ferran passed away, leaving behind a wife and two children.

Gil de Ferran was a major figure in Honda, playing a managerial role with the team in the early 2000s. After leaving the team following disagreements, de Ferran returned to F1 with McLaren as sporting director in 2018, a position he held until 2021.

Gil de Ferran had a very successful career in motorsports himself, winning the CART title twice and finishing second in the 2003 Indycar Series. In his title campaign, the Brazilian won the iconic Indy 500, the first of three wins in the season for him.

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