Brawn wants “to help F1 become better”

F1 Fanatic Round-up

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In the round-up: Ross Brawn hints at a return to Formula One as part of the sport’s management

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Comment of the day

A lot of you chimed in with Jenson Button’s view on how F1 camera angles don’t flatter the sheer energy of the sport:

I completely agree with everyone’s comments here about camera angle, and I’d also add that the in-car cameras need improving as well. One positive from this year though is the awesome camera to the side and just behind the driver’s helmets. I ADORE this view, it takes me back to the Senna and Mansell day where it feels like you are perched just above the driver’s shoulder and holding on for dear life.

Did anyone see the amazing BBC documentary about Sir Chris Hoy racing at Le Mans? The in car camera there showed just how ferocious and violent it is inside the cockpit. Brutal. If that could be recreated on F1 cars I’d be very happy indeed.
D:Reid (@Unicron2002)

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On this day in F1

Sebastian Vettel took pole position for the first Indian Grand Prix on this day five years ago:

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Keith Collantine
Lifelong motor sport fan Keith set up RaceFans in 2005 - when it was originally called F1 Fanatic. Having previously worked as a motoring...

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48 comments on “Brawn wants “to help F1 become better””

  1. Would be nice if Liberty Media actually accepted Brawns help and put him in charge of “fixing F1”. Add a commercial guru with knowledge of modern media to support him, and let Bernie go. He has done a lot for F1, but cannot go on forever. Now is the perfect time for change, in order to be able to make progress in 2020.

    1. yep – I seriously cant think of a better person to run f1 than Ross. Fingers crossed it happens

      1. Brawn was one of the architects of the most depressing era in Formula 1, when we was a director at Ferrari. On the technical side there is no dispute, he is a very bright man. But letting him run the sporting side, I hold my reservations.

        1. You’re right but wrong at the same time. When he was at Ferrari the state of F1 was not important, the state of Ferrari was.

          1. He was responsible for Ferrari… What did you expect him to prioritize? McLaren? He is not bound by any teams now, and he is pretty good at what he is doing without causing so much drama… He is well respected… So i cant think of what is wrong? apart from your pride and negativity every now and then towards certain figures…

          2. If you believe there’s only one way to achieve a goal, then you have a point.
            I think there are always choices. Brawn made choices in his job at Ferrari that I, as a F1 fan, didn’t enjoy very much.

          3. @mysticus I think you misunderstood: that was @xtwl ‘s point, you can’t judge him by the fact that he helped Ferrari achieve dominance and make F1 a turn off for a lot of people (nothing compared with today, though). His goal was to achieve that dominance, not boost the popularity of the sport.

          4. @David BR
            that was my point as well, not very sure he meant to state the same… as he is usually very negative… if what you say is what he meant, then agreed i mistook the point…

    2. He is one of the few people, who I believe has both the capabilities and impartiality to organise F1 structure. He has great technical skill and thoroughly understands the modern F1 era and has potential to bring the spice back into F1…

  2. I don’t know how Palmer is so confident that he will be on the grid next year. He hasn’t been spectacular he has been actually under performing in my eyes. The most notable thing he has done is spin in a points position in Hungary. Personally I don’t think he is f1 material maybe more sports cars. What really made me think that he isnt f1 material is when his engineer told him his tires were overheating and he asked how does he stop that. He is in f1 and has to ask that are you kidding me limit the amount of force on the tires smoother on turn in and on the gas.

    1. There are 2 ways of getting an F1 seat. The first is based on performance/talent, which you rightly say, he hasn’t demonstrated. However, the 2nd way is via money. Maybe he feels confident because he’s secured the drive via a sponsor arrangement. While it is uncommon for a manufacturer to take a driver on dollars, it wouldn’t be the first time.

      1. Renault Sport F1 doesn’t need cash. They wont sign a single driver based on sponsorship anytime soon.

        1. It’s not just money he brings though. Sky gives him an insanely imbalanced (compared to other backmarkers/midfielders) amount of air time due to his nationality, Renault’s sponsors must love it.

          1. Sky have no control over the FOM feed.

          2. But before and after the race?

        2. @duke
          Remember a guy so called Petrov?

    2. How many F1 cars in 2016 have you drove? ZERO? shocking.

      Perhaps he was asking that question because there could be something specific that doesnt fall under the generic tactics you think are important? Perhaps a single turn was the problem? Perhaps it was many of 100 things you’re incapable of understanding?

      1. If having an opinion was reliant on having experience. We’d all be mute.

      2. The Duke, what is it with you and your phrase ”incapable of understanding”? One word. Opinions. Ever heard of them? Or are you some sort of dictator who expects everyone to have the same opinion as yours? It’s clear that you have much to learn. Now off you go, child.

    3. He has an interesting sponsor arrangement which could land him a place at Sauber.

  3. From a marketing perspective BPs return to F1 is a great thing for them as a company. Their reputation took a massive hit after Macondo. This will be good PR for them.

    However, Mclaren and Honda, how much of their development would be affected by change in fuel. Fuel has become an extremely important element in the current formula. Let’s hope that this late change doesn’t derail their progress.

    1. I was surprised to read in that Motorsport article, that BP will supply not only Honda-McLaren, but may also supply the Renault F1 team as well. Actually, on thinking about this, the move to BP is a move you’d think Honda-McLaren would have tried to avoid because both Honda and McLaren found producing an F1 grade product wasn’t as easy as they thought. Yet the lesson appears to have been forgotten. I hope BP’s testing regime is thorough.
      The Melbourne GP looks like it will be a very interesting race.

  4. I’d love to see a Castrol livery in F1. It could be absolutely beautiful, they’ve always been my favourite liveries in all of motorsports.

    1. I liked the Jaguar XJR-9 Castrol livery. That looked awesome.

    2. I’m hoping to see green and gold on an F1 car again, would be a big improvement for McLaren.

    3. Seen our V8 Castrol liveries out here in Australia? Magnificent.

    4. something like https://i.imgur.com/tL1hVSk.jpg is what I’m thinking. (couldn’t help myself, apologies to both Castrol and McLaren)

    5. Didn’t the 1993 Lotus have one ??

      1. :o Today I learnt… Cheers

  5. OmarRoncal - Go Seb!!! (@)
    29th October 2016, 3:57

    That Andretti article is pure gold. Thanks for including it in the round-up.

  6. I think this Mexican Grand Prix will be an unpredictable race (hopefully). There is a chance of rain around 2 p.m. there in Mexico City- which will only increase as the day goes on (typical MXC weather).

  7. Chris (@tophercheese21)
    29th October 2016, 4:40

    Re: COTD
    They should bring back those helmet cameras. They had them for a very short period in 2012 and 2013 but then just stopped for some reason. They added a great perspective and really gave a bit more insight into the loads the drivers are placed under.

    Not sure why they stopped, but Indycar has some fantastic ones that are really high definition as well. It would be so much more entertaining if you could watch a battle from this view.

    1. The F1 onboards are also in HD now by the way… not that you can see much detail anyway because the lens and rolling film are crap and unless you see a side by side shot from last year and the current ones it’s hard to tell the difference.

    2. ColdFly F1 (@)
      29th October 2016, 8:51

      Agree @tophercheese21, those helmet cameras offer a great dynamic view ‘from the inside’.
      IIRC they stopped them due to the weight which becomes up to 5 times heavier due to G-forces.
      But that was some time ago and with the small phone cameras and Google Glass (RIP) nowadays I’m sure they can solve that and still get a decent image.

  8. Ross. There are F1 fans who care about the sport for other reasons than romantic beliefs and love for team and drivers. Some of us appreciate the technical marvel and competition.

    Help bring back the sports core principals – we’ve had enough Twitter-finger over-emotional fans ruining the sport.

    1. +1 Well said

  9. Couldn’t have been a more apt photo of Ross Brawn with the ‘Welcome’ sign. Great pick @keithcollantine :)

    1. @neelv27 – Nice spot, I didn’t realize it until you pointed it out.

  10. Things just keep getting better for Mclaren. Their performance this year has been so shambolic, that their fuel partner thinks it reflects badly on their company to be associated with the most under powered PU on the grid.

    As usual, Mclaren approaches a partner that has been out of F1 for ages.

  11. This Brawn guy awesome.

    61, perfect for an elder statesman.

    He seems to win at everything he does… What if he did some F1?

  12. That Leclerc tweet has really brought home how much I miss the sound of old F1 cars.

  13. I’d be surprised if Palmer was on the grid next year – even more surprised if it was in the Renault. He’s been a bit anonymous really and if points are on offer you’d bet Magnussen could do it over him.

    Maybe I’m biased as I like Kev but if Renault keep one of their two drivers I really doubt it’ll be Palmer.

  14. Evil Homer (@)
    29th October 2016, 12:43

    With Herbie Blash retiring next year (Read: being pushed out by Todt) Charlie may need a new 2IC for next year and Ross Brawn could fit nicely until going on to a more management role?

    With Liberty taking over, new regs next year (lets see if they work), BE will move on soon and it seems that all know F1 needs a bit of a tweak, but I am feeling more positive for the future now than I have for some time- bring it on!

  15. So Magnussen has reportedly weathered the storm at Renault and will be confirmed in the coming weeks. Strange that such credible sources had him linked to the Andretti Autosport IndyCar team, much as he had no issues in attracting IndyCar interest last year when he lost his seat to Alonso…only to be blocked by McLaren. He must have some good contacts in that paddock…

    Does that mean Ocon is a shoe-in for Force India? Nasr has been the favourite up until now, but surely Mercedes want Esteban in a better car than the Manor and they could give Force India powerunit rebate to sweeten the deal versus that Banco do Brasil money. If these rumours about Magnussen are true, I would be disappointed not to see Ocon in that seat.

  16. Lolz. If they let Ross near the head of F1 (a head of Merc interests) he might actually make F1 interesting again, with some ‘decisive’ red tape cutting (namely the 100kg/race rule). All it takes is getting rid of that one rule to let RBR dominate Mercedes again. All Lewis needs to do is go to Ferrari, and RBR start destroying Mercedes, and the balance will be restored/improved.

    1. @xsavior, at least you’re finally being honest about what you want, which is a field skewed in favour of your favourite team (even though it is quite clear that you misunderstand how to actually achieve that).

  17. Bloody hell, what a farce, the man that made F1 boring and cynical along with Jean Todt and Schumi wants to revitalise the sport. Is that irony?

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