Ross Brawn: The glorious past and the uncertain future

Ross Brawn, an experienced old-timer in Formula One, heads out of Formula One with an expected six months sabbatical.

Ross Brawn is headed for a six month sabbatical from Formula One. And it’s not the first time that the veteran has taken out time to unwind. Flashback to 2006 and he had a similar break quitting from Ferrari which coincided with the first retirement of Michael Schumacher having aided the German in winning all of his seven Driver’s Championships( with Benetton in 94,95 and with Ferrari from 2000-04) and Ferrari in their six team triumphs. The break was for one year before Brawn returned as the Technical Director for Honda. But with the financial crisis hitting Formula One in 2008, Honda decided to pull out but Brawn decided to stay invested in the team and it was renamed Brawn GP for the 2009 season. As they say the rest was history. As Brawn goes out to catch some big fishes, here’s a look at his days at the Brackely outfit and what his options 6 months down the line.

The Experienced Past

Ross Brawn used the rules to his advantage and powered Jenson Button and Brawn GP to hit gold in the 2009 season.

Brawn masterminded in what was an exceptional and unexpected win for his driver Jenson Button and his newly formed team powered by a Mercedes engine. He used all his technical armory to turn the team into a world champion during the 2009. While the debate remained if Brawn had twisted the rules to his advantage to use a double-diffuser that made Button literally unbeatable, the fact was that everything he did was within the rules and by the penultimate race of the season-the Brazilian GP, Button had won the championship and Brawn GP the constructor’s trophy, with second driver Ruben’s Barrichello finishing third overall.

Brawn showed his financial brilliance as the he sold Brawn GP to Mercedes for 2010 season for close to $200million but remained with the team as Team-Principal. With him at the helm of affairs, he convinced Michael Schumacher to return to Formula One once again and teamed fellow German Nico Rosberg for the 2010 season. The German junior outsmarted his legendary teammate as he finished on the podium 3 times and seventh in the table. Schumacher proved rusty in the car and could manage only a ninth place overall without a win and a podium something that no one could quite fathom given his achievements. Brawn persisted with the team for 2011 and the story remained pretty much the same as Rosberg stayed ahead of Schumacher for the second consecutive-year but neither was able to get a win or podium. For both years Mercedes finished fourth in the constructor’s tally.

Brawn played a key role in getting Michael Schumacher for a second stint in Formula One and drive for his Mercedes team.

It was only in 2012 at the Chinese GP that the team registered it’s first win through Nico Rosberg who followed it up with another podium at Monaco. But Schumacher remained the under performer and could manage a single podium before he finally hung up his helmet for the second time. Mercedes finished a dismal fifth in the points table. Brawn in search of a Championship winning driver was able to sign former World Champion Lewis Hamilton from Mclaren for the 2013 season. The signing raised hopes for another Championship winning team and season. A significant development took place at the top management as Niki Lauda was appointed as a non-executive Chairman.

Another development that made Brawn uneasy was the hiring of Paddy Lowe, McLaren Technical Director, at the beginning of 2013. When Lowe joined the team in June, it was quite evident that the re-structuring was meant to replace Brawn sooner or later.

Brawn was miffed with a less authoritative role in the team and decided to quite the by the end of the year. It wasn’t before helping Mercedes finish second behind the dominant Red-Bull and ahead of Ferrari in the constructor’s table on the back of three wins, eight poles, and nine podiums.

It will be an uphill task for the Silver Arrows team for 2014 in the absence of Brawn’s experience, tactics and leadership abilities.

The Future Options

Brawn-Schumacher duo reigned supreme in the late 90′s and early part of the century aiding Ferrari in dominating the sport with 5 drivers title’s and 6 Constructor Championships.

As the news of Brawn quitting Mercedes broke out, he was linked with a move to his former employee Ferrari. Ferrari have somewhat struggled since their glory days of Brawn-Schumacher duo, their feats getting replicated by Sebastian Vettel-Adrian Newey at Red-Bull. After their exit from the Maranello-based team in 2006, Ferrari won a single driver’s title with Kimi Raikkonen in 2007 and two Constructor’s Championship ín 2007-08.

Given his contribution in making Ferrari a dominant force in Formula One in the early 2000′s, the tifosi would have ideally wanted Brawn in the team for 2014 given his experience and his unmatched strategic and leadership abilities. With two Championship winning drivers in Kimi Raikkonen and Fernando Alonso and Brawn on board, Ferrari could have been a lethal force for the season which undergoes significant changes in rules and regulations.

Brawn has multiple options to explore when he returns from his sabbatical.

While Ferrari and their fans would hope they are able to get Brawn on board as soon as possible, the 59-year-old has quite a few options after he return’s from his holiday. He has an option at McLaren as a possible and rumored replacement for Martin Whitmarsh, a significant role at the FIA management, considering his ex-boss Jean Todt is in the President’s chair and old associate Honda, which returns to Formula One in 2015 as an engine supplier to Mclaren.

Given his successful record and more than 20 years of experience with 5 teams in the sport , there’s hardly any doubt that Brawn in all likelihood will deliver results no matter which team or organization he joins, something we shall get to know soon.