McLaren Chairman leaves after 1 year

Sir Richard Lapthorne, who joined the McLaren Group in April last year to replace Ron Dennis as Chairman, is believed to have shocked the Woking company by now announcing his departure.

Following McLaren's highly disruptive start to the 2009 season, Lapthorne joined the company a year ago, having previously acted as Chairman for British telecommunications company Cable & Wireless. However, his exit this week comes as unexpected.

"We had a full list of issues last April," the 66-year-old explained to The Times. "Ron and the team have been brilliant in working through them and, with the road car company poised for a spin-off, my job's done."