“What the F*ck?”: Crass Mercedes Joke Once Led to McLaren’s Ron Dennis to Cut Ties with F1 Great

A former team boss and an F1 race-winning driver walk into a bar. What followed next became a complete disaster for one, and ruined his chances of driving for McLaren forever. This isn’t a poorly constructed joke but real events after the 1994 season. We are talking about a joke that offended the then McLaren CEO Ron Dennis. In fact, the British businessman was so offended by the joke involving McLaren and Mercedes that he went from offering a seat to never speaking to the German driver again.

Who said Germans aren’t funny? At least Ron Dennis did to Heinz-Harald Frentzen. The German had a great reputation in the premier class after his heroics in his rookie season with Sauber. After the end of his rookie season, Frentzen had a lot of offers from bigger teams, including Dennis’s McLaren. However, his joke during a conversation with the McLaren CEO closed all doors for the German.

During his conversation with the then-boss, addressing the Mercedes rumors, Frentzen said, “And how is your German? You have to learn German as well.” Frentzen revealed this conversation in the Beyond the Grid podcast.

He also added, “He had a stone face. I was thinking I was funny, and my manager just pushed my arm like ‘What the f*ck did you say that for?‘. And I saw the face of Ron Dennis, and he never ever spoke again with me. He was so upset that I made this joke. Unbelievable, and that’s why I never really had a chance at McLaren because Ron Dennis, for some reason, didn’t like my sense of humor.”

Read More: The Reason Why McLaren F1 Tycoon Ron Dennis Faced an Unmatched Behemoth $100 Million Fine: “$5 Million for the Offence and $95 Million for…Being a Tw*t”

An expensive and possibly career-altering joke from the German. The boss was definitely not happy with the young German’s attitude and slammed the McLaren door shut, even if the Mercedes rumors were true.

However, everyone needs to stay careful in the world of F1, even Lewis Hamilton, as his silly joke could’ve seen him get banned as well.

Lewis Hamilton could have never made history with Mercedes if his silly joke had seen him suspended from McLaren

The Brit caught the entire sport by surprise with his first nine races in the circus. The working outfit could not have asked for more from their rookie driver. However, a few years later in 2011, after Hamilton had established himself in the sport and the team, despite his teammate’s concerns, Hamilton faced a disciplinary problem during the Monaco GP.

Because of his actions during the weekend, Hamilton earned himself multiple reprimands from the stewards. Addressing this annoying scenario, Hamilton cracked a joke that could’ve earned him a ban.

After the race, Hamilton said, “It’s an absolute frickin’ joke. I’ve been to see the stewards five times out of six [grands prix] this season … Maybe it’s because I’m black. That’s what Ali G says. I don’t know.”

However, the Brit quickly realized his mistake and apologized with a heartfelt letter to the FIA president Jean Todt. “I’ve just been to the stewards to make peace. It was a bit of a joke, which wasn’t funny at the time,” he also added.

Unluckily for Frentzen, he did not get a pass! Luckily for Hamilton, he realized his mistake quickly and apologized.