Ross Brawn tipped to take over Formula 1

Ross Brawn is set to take over the helm of Formula 1's sporting regulations, according to reports.

Auto Bild Motorsport claims that the former boss of Ferrari and Mercedes’ racing teams has signed a deal with F1’s owner, Liberty Media, to run the sporting side of Formula 1 in future.

The German report suggests that the FIA, motorsport’s governing body, has approved the appointment, but offers no timescale on when he will take up the role. Brawn and current FIA boss Jean Todt worked closely together during their time with the Ferrari team.

Last week Brawn said he was interested in a return to F1, but not with a team.

“I would never go back to a team. I did everything I can in a team, but I would be repeating myself,” he told the Daily Telegraph. “For sure, trying to help F1 become a better F1 would be appealing. It would be the one thing that could be interesting. If you ask me what F1 needs, it needs a plan; a three-year and a five-year plan. My view is we haven’t got the ideal structure for creating that plan and implementing it over time.”

Brawn has been a senior figure in F1 for decades. He started his career in the 1970s with March Engineering and became a Formula 3 mechanic, then joined Williams in 1978, working in R&D and the aerodynamics department. Stints at Haas Lola and Arrows followed, then a move to Jaguar’s sportscar racing team, where he led the design of the world championship-winning Jaguar XJR14.

Returning to F1 in 1991, Brawn led Benetton to world titles in 1994 and 1995 as technical director, and then secured a string of driver and constructor championships with Ferrari between 1997 and 2006.

After joining Honda in 2008, Brawn led the buyout of the team when the manufacturer withdrew from F1, and promptly won the world title with the renamed Brawn team in 2009. When Mercedes took over the team, Brawn stayed until the end of 2013 and announced his retirement at the start of the following year.

Phill Tromans