McLaren supremo Ron Dennis has admitted that his team's fall from grace last year was difficult to take and forced his decision to take over in January.
The Woking-based constructor failed to win a Grand Prix for the first time since 1980, which ultimately led Martin Whitmarsh's exit.
He was replaced on the pit wall by former Lotus boss Eric Boullier.
In the end, Dennis took over the role as chief executive with McLaren and the 66-year-old insists that the decision was for the good of the team.
He told Formula 1's official website: "In the end I felt that the right thing to do was to change direction, to refocus the team and remove from the team anything that was not contributing to a focused effort.
"There were too many in the team that were distracted by other activities."
McLaren started the season well, with podium finishes for both Kevin Magnussen and Jenson Button in Australia, but failed to score points in Bahrain last weekend.
Chris O'Keefe
