Apr.4 (GMM) Ron Dennis admits that watching the acclaimed new feature documentary about Ayrton Senna was emotional.
“Yes, at certain points I cried,” the long-time McLaren team boss, who presided over the great Brazilian’s three world championships, told Italian daily La Gazzetta dello Sport when asked about ‘Senna’.
“Some of the images touched me deeply,” added Dennis. “We had a very close relationship, only fighting about contracts.”
A strong focus of the film is Senna’s intense rivalry with Alain Prost, but Dennis said he does not regret pitting the two against each other.
“If you try to win with only one driver, then the ability of the team to win suffers,” he said. “What’s clear is that despite the dispute, we won 15 of the 16 races in 1988.”
Dennis admits he has also been similarly close to other McLaren drivers Mika Hakkinen and Lewis Hamilton, and said the relationship between the latter and Jenson Button is “harmonious”.
“Martin Whitmarsh has a much easier time with the drivers than I did in my time,” he smiled.
Meanwhile, by Corriere della Sera, Dennis was asked if he thinks Michael Schumacher’s record of seven titles would be different had Senna not died in 1994.
“You could only answer that with a crystal ball,” he said.
“When he went to Williams, the team was in trouble but he would have used his experience and won at least a fourth championship,” Dennis told the newspaper.
