McLaren's Ron Dennis focused on growth

Ron Dennis is committed to growing the McLaren Technology Group in order to ensure a broader foundation from which the company's Formula 1 can draw resources.

Speaking to the press in Abu Dhabi last weekend, Dennis explained the benefits of focusing on growth for the company's F1 activities which, while they have decreased as an overall portion of the group's revenue base, still remain its most important business in terms of their impact on brand image.

"Our objectives as shareholders at McLaren is always to think about growth," Dennis explained.

"The actual process we are going through at the moment is how can we be bigger and stronger, how can we build our organisation to match the sort of resources that some of the other players have.

"It's not easy to race against a Mercedes-Benz or a Ferrari, so my primary responsibility is how to grow the group and how to monetize some of the expertise that we have.

"Some of the technologies that we have now come to be recognized for in the rest of world are really starting to become profitable, and move the needle in very alternative sectors than motor racing, like in the medical field, the financial world, data processing, predictive analytics."

While seeking to diversify the group's activities, the MTG chairman and CEO stressed the importance of its core Formula 1 business, not only in terms of providing a revenue stream but also in terms of the brand and image the racing outfit reflects on the company as a whole.

"Our business model is not attractive in the long term, not least because 107 teams have come and gone from F1 since 1966, and we don't want to be one of those. The way you avoid it is you build a broader base which supports the F1 team.

"I don't know the exact percentage but we are up around F1 being between 34 to 38 percent of our business now. It's an important part of our business which influences dramatically our brand because it reflects badly when we're not succeeding.

"What we're about is growth, and how do we achieve growth. You can grow in two ways: as a company, you take the money that is normally called profit and you invest it in the future, or if you want to go faster than that you have to define a completely different approach.

"And that's what I've been focusing my mind on for four months at least, and it's been the primary reason why you haven't seen me at the Grand Prix."

Abu Dhabi Grand Prix - F1i's driver ratings

Chris Medland's Abu Dhabi Grand Prix review