McLaren confirmed in a statement on Sunday morning that the Swiss-born businessman died with his family in Geneva.
While Ojjeh was best known in F1 circles for his decades of involvement with McLaren, his first entry into the sport actually began with Williams.
His father founded Techniques d’Avant Garde (TAG) investment firm, which became Williams’ funder in 1979.
The British team took their first F1 victory at the British Grand Prix that year and won the F1 World Championship with Alan Jones in 1980.
Ojjeh was approached by then McLaren boss Ron Dennis in late 1981 with the intention of becoming a TAG partner on his team, and a deal was struck that included the financing of a turbo engine built by Porsche.
The partnership between McLaren and TAG became hugely successful, with Niki Lauda and Alain Prost dominating the 1984 World Cup.
Later that year, Ojjeh became a majority shareholder in McLaren as the team continued to deliver world titles.
Ojjeh was the inspiration for McLaren’s foray into the automotive industry after convincing Dennis that producing a road car would make good business sense.
TAG’s involvement with McLaren remained strong through the company’s road car, electronics and marketing divisions.
Andreas Seidl, Team Principal, McLaren, Mansour Ojjeh, Co-Owner, McLaren, and Zak Brown, Executive Director, McLaren
Photo by: Mark Sutton / Motorsport Images
While Dennis stepped down from the McLaren F1 team, Ojjeh stayed with the team – though his stake was diluted over the years as Bahraini investment firm Mumtalakat became investors.
Ojjeh was also struggling with his health and had a double lung transplant in late 2013 after suffering from IPF lung disease.
Despite being fully fit again and continuing to work at McLaren, he handed over his place on the team board to his son Sultan in 2020.
However, Ojjeh remained a huge fan of F1. In a 2017 interview with Autosport, he said his involvement with McLaren felt like part of a family.
“I like to see the people, some of whom I’ve known for a long time, I like to drive into the garage, I like to be in the pits. Of course, I like to win when we’re doing well,” he said.
“It’s just the challenge of Formula 1, I think. And to be in different countries. I like to travel around and thank the people who work for us and make it possible because they need awards. With 3500 employees in the company it’s the least we can do. “
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