Formula 1: Ron Dennis quits as McLaren chairman and CEO

The 69-year-old has ended his 36-year association with the constructor on the advice of his fellow shareholders

Dennis has been involved with McLaren since 1980 (Getty)

Long-standing McLaren boss Ron Dennis has parted company with the Formula One team.

A statement from Dennis said he had "been required to relinquish his duties as chairman and chief executive of McLaren Technology Group (MTG)".

The statement added: "This follows a decision by the majority shareholders to place him on gardening leave."

Dennis, the 69-year-old who has been involved with McLaren since 1980, appeared at the High Court in London on Friday in a bid to prevent the team's board from placing him on gardening leave until his contract was due to expire in January.

Dennis, whose statement detailed that he remains a "significant" shareholder in MTG and McLaren Automotive Ltd, expressed his disappointment at the manner of his departure from the key roles he held.

He said: "I am disappointed that the representatives of TAG and Mumtalakat, the other main shareholders in McLaren, have forced through this decision to place me on gardening leave, despite the strong warnings from the rest of the management team about the potential consequences of their actions on the business.

"The grounds they have stated are entirely spurious; my management style is the same as it has always been and is one that has enabled McLaren to become an automotive and technology group that has won 20 Formula One world championships and grown into an £850million-a-year business. Throughout that time I have worked closely with a series of talented colleagues to keep McLaren at the cutting edge of technology, to whom I will always be extremely grateful.

"Ultimately it has become clear to me through this process that neither TAG nor Mumtalakat share my vision for McLaren and its true growth potential. But my first concern is to the business I have built and to its 3,500 employees. I will continue to use my significant shareholding in both companies and my seats on both boards to protect the interests and value of McLaren and help shape its future.

"In addition I intend to launch a new technology investment fund once my contractual commitments with McLaren expire. This will capitalise on my expertise, my financial resources, together with external investment to pursue the many commercial opportunities l have been offered in recent years but have been unable to take up while being so committed to the existing business."

PA