WOKING // Ron Dennis will step down as the McLaren team principal ahead of the season-opening Australian Grand Prix.
Dennis, who has been in charge at McLaren since 1981, will step aside on March 1 to allow the chief executive Martin Whitmarsh to take over the post. Dennis, who will remain with McLaren as the executive chairman, said: "It is time and I have to say it is absolutely 100 per cent my decision. It is what I want to do, but I do intend to work much harder."
The announcement overshadowed the launch of McLaren's 2009 car, the MP4-24, in which Lewis Hamilton will defend his world title.
Speaking at the team's headquarters in England, Hamilton said: "The championship is wide open with the rule changes.
"It's great for fans but it makes my life difficult. It's great to see this year's car because it carries the world champion's number one and I'd like to keep that. As to whether I can do that, who knows?"
sports@thenational.ae
Why it pays to compare
A comparison of sending Dh20,000 from the UAE using two different routes at the same time - the first direct from a UAE bank to a bank in Germany, and the second from the same UAE bank via an online platform to Germany - found key differences in cost and speed. The transfers were both initiated on January 30.
Route 1: bank transfer
The UAE bank charged Dh152.25 for the Dh20,000 transfer. On top of that, their exchange rate margin added a difference of around Dh415, compared with the mid-market rate.
Total cost: Dh567.25 - around 2.9 per cent of the total amount
Total received: €4,670.30
Route 2: online platform
The UAE bank’s charge for sending Dh20,000 to a UK dirham-denominated account was Dh2.10. The exchange rate margin cost was Dh60, plus a Dh12 fee.
Total cost: Dh74.10, around 0.4 per cent of the transaction
Total received: €4,756
The UAE bank transfer was far quicker – around two to three working days, while the online platform took around four to five days, but was considerably cheaper. In the online platform transfer, the funds were also exposed to currency risk during the period it took for them to arrive.