Legendary McLaren boss admits muting 'RUBBISH' F1 commentators

Lewis Hamilton and Ron Dennis at McLaren in 2008 — Photo: © IMAGO

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Legendary McLaren boss admits muting 'RUBBISH' F1 commentators

An F1 legend delivered a harsh verdict on modern commentary

Sheona Mountford F1 Journalist

Motorsport journalist working in F1 since 2024.

Wednesday 28 May 2025 20:53

Formula 1 legend and former McLaren boss Ron Dennis has admitted to muting modern commentary when he watches a race during a grand prix weekend.

Dennis served as McLaren’s team principal, CEO and eventually co-owner from 1981 until 2009, and transformed the team into a regular championship contender, winning multiple world titles with F1 legends such as Lewis Hamilton, Ayrton Senna, Alain Prost and Niki Lauda.

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However, in 2009 Dennis stepped down from his active role as team leader and sold his shares with McLaren in 2017, with the legendary F1 boss leaving the sport firmly behind.

In a recent interview with The Sunday Times, Dennis revealed that he is still an active F1 viewer, but when he does watch a grand prix, he mutes the commentary.

"I always turn the sound off," he said. "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. I do love sport, still love watching grands prix."

Dennis addresses chances of a F1 return

Dennis also addressed whether he would return to the F1 paddock, but long-term McLaren fans are in for disappointment, with the team boss definitively rejecting the idea.

"I will never go back. You can imagine I’ve got children and grandchildren, and they’re pestering me about going. I will arrange it for them but I won’t go," he added.

"The thing is, I witnessed people coming back to Formula 1 after they’d left. The thing is, your opinion is out of date, even if you’re a multiple world champion. People are polite, everything you’d expect them to be.

"They will sit you down, they will give you a coffee, but you’ve got nothing to offer. You are a spare part and I would never want to be in that position.

"I’ve got better things to do. I love my garden, even if I don’t spend much time working in it myself, but I am passionate about it, passionate about so many other things in my life."

Following Dennis' exit, McLaren suffered a sharp decline towards the back of the grid, with the team going through three different leaders in the 2010s: Martin Whitmarsh, Eric Boullier and Andreas Seidl.

McLaren finally returned to their championship-winning ways in 2024 with the constructors' title returning to Woking, and they are on track to replicate this feat again in 2025, with their drivers Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri also in contention for the drivers' championship.