Ross Brawn leaves Mercedes

[Just_a_fan]

Brawn out at the end of the season:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/formula1/24725406

[Mika1]

Paddy Lowe will replace him.

[FoxHound]

Brawn will probably Honda's liason with Mclaren at the very least.
Or perhaps he will take a place up within Mclaren's hierarchy.

[ecapox]

ouch!

[raymondu999]

I think the concern for any team would be longevity. Age-wise I don't think Brawn is going to be around for much longer.

[Holm86]

I think the concern for any team would be longevity. Age-wise I don't think Brawn is going to be around for much longer.

He's got at least 7 years left? Thats enough for another long term contract.

[astracrazy]

bit of a shame i would of liked him to of been there for next year

i'd imagine the role offered was along the lines of niki's role. give us your advice but leave the running to us

[xpensive]

Brawn will probably Honda's liason with Mclaren at the very least.
Or perhaps he will take a place up within Mclaren's hierarchy.

Yeah right, that will surely happen, Honda must just love the man.

[astracrazy]

Brawn will probably Honda's liason with Mclaren at the very least.
Or perhaps he will take a place up within Mclaren's hierarchy.

Yeah right, that will surely happen, Honda must just love the man.

hasn't there been a discussion about this somewhere before? I don't see any reason why Honda would hold any grudges...in fact i've read (on the bbc link or james allens website) that actually Brawn would be the reason it wouldn't happen. not honda

[dren]

Perhaps he would go to Williams?

[lebesset]

Perhaps he would go to Williams?

if frank retires that might interest him for a few years .....with claire to follow him in due course

and not so far to drive to the office

[Pup]

I'm often wrong, but I can't see Brawn going to Williams - sadly, they just don't have the resources necessary to make a go for the championship these days. And in addition to Honda, Brawn has at least two other options on the pit lane that I think are far more attractive, Ferrari and McLaren.

Each of those two come with strings, of course. At Ferrari, he would likely be given the control he wants, albeit with the ever-present eye of Montezemolo looking over his shoulder. And he also left the team on bad terms when they chose Stephano over him for the TP position. Of course, Ferrari has shown with Kimi that they're willing to let bygones be bygones, and to write a big enough check to make the other party feel the same.

With McLaren, he'd have the trouble of integrating himself into McLaren's culture, and trying to figure out how both he and Whitmarsh fit into the same team. In other words, the very reasons he's leaving Merc. But perhaps McLaren are willing to be more flexible than Merc and at least there'd be only 2 team principals there instead of 4. More interesting would be if Dennis decided to do something else with Whitmarsh, perhaps moving him to a purely administrative role.

Or perhaps moving him to Williams.

[Richard]

Of course one possibility is that he already has something in mind and deliberately stalled the negotiations.

I can’t see how someone who has reported left because he wanted undiluted control would work at McLaren or Ferrari unless it was to replace Whitmarsh or Domenicali. Even if those two were going to be replaced I couldn’t see Brawn being a natural replacement because those teams tend to make those appointments from within. Having said that, an external appointment might be needed to give them a shake up?

Perhaps running a mid-field team might appeal. It wouldn’t pay as much but it’d be more personal. Williams and Force India look like good destinations. They’re the right size and I can imagine Frank or Vijay wanting someone to take on the TP role. A high profile person like Brawn might help them attract talent and cash. Sauber and Lotus would also be the right sort of team but they already have their next generation TPs in place.

He might be tempted to go right back to the start and build his own team, although Brawn strikes me as someone who prefers large organisations.

Finally he might simply want to take time out and see what happens, and that might not be in F1.

[munudeges]

Yeah right, that will surely happen, Honda must just love the man.

I believe we predicted this months or even years ago didn't we? Brawn moaning about who is actually in charge.

[Pup]

Of course one possibility is that he already has something in mind and deliberately stalled the negotiations.

I can’t see how someone who has reported left because he wanted undiluted control would work at McLaren or Ferrari unless it was to replace Whitmarsh or Domenicali. Even if those two were going to be replaced I couldn’t see Brawn being a natural replacement because those teams tend to make those appointments from within. Having said that, an external appointment might be needed to give them a shake up?

Perhaps running a mid-field team might appeal. It wouldn’t pay as much but it’d be more personal. Williams and Force India look like good destinations. They’re the right size and I can imagine Frank or Vijay wanting someone to take on the TP role. A high profile person like Brawn might help them attract talent and cash. Sauber and Lotus would also be the right sort of team but they already have their next generation TPs in place.

He might be tempted to go right back to the start and build his own team, although Brawn strikes me as someone who prefers large organisations.

Finally he might simply want to take time out and see what happens, and that might not be in F1.

I think Domenicali's days at Ferrari have run out, but who knows. As far as Ferrari hiring from within goes, I'm not sure that Brawn doesn't count, given his times there. Of course, he says he'd never go back, and perhaps we should believe him.

Whitmarsh should be on his way, imo, but I think Dennis & Co. will show more loyalty than that. Plus, though I don't know if he can claim most of the responsibility for both Honda and Prodromou, they did both happen on his watch and it makes up for a lot.

I'm sure that Brawn enjoys a challenge, but I don't think he'd take up a lost cause. He's the sort who needs a fighting chance at a win, which is why I think a midfield team is out. And, honestly, Williams isn't even a midfield team these days, while Force India's financing is a yearly gamble at best.

I don't see him starting up with a new team - I think the only reason he went with Honda/Brawn was that he was well aware of the potential.

I can see him as the Norbert Haug of Honda. Even if the challenge isn't the same as being a team principal, it's not a cake walk and the pay is probably better.

So I'd place the best odds on Honda and lower but above even odds on both McLaren and Ferrari.