- 29 Oct 16, 00:18#441535
It's shaping up I hope - ah, I miss RB!
ESPNF1:
Another day, another story about Ross Brawn's imminent F1 return doing the rounds. But this particular version of the Brawn comeback epic comes with additional weight, as the source material is Brawn himself, via an interview with the Daily Telegraph.
"[Being nominated as a possible future sporting or technical chief] was nice to hear from Christian [Horner]," Brawn told the British newspaper. "That's how I like to be involved in the sport.
"I would never go back to a team. I did everything I can in a team, but I would be repeating myself. For sure, trying to help F1 in the future 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 for creating that plan and implementing it over time."
Whether or not Brawn decides to make a return to the sport that made him his fortune remains to be seen. But what is particularly interesting to note is that Brawn is -- allegedly -- being considered for a technical role by the sport's incoming owners, Liberty Media.
As things currently stand, sporting and technical regulations -- and the associated oversight --- are the responsibility of the FIA, the regulators and rulemakers of Formula One (and of a host of other motor sports besides). The FIA have a small stake in the F1 operating company, but there has been no suggestion from the Federation that they are expecting to hand over any of their regulatory powers when the sport changes ownership over the coming months.
In fact, the FIA has been beefing up its technical department in recent years. F1 technical delegate Jo Bauer boosted the size of his team in line with the regulatory changes seen in 2014, with new staffers assigned to ensure that fuel flows were within the mandated limits, while the additional number of components to be scrutineered once engines were replaced with multi-part power units also required extra pairs of hands to ensure that scrutineering could continue to take place in a timely fashion.
The FIA's technical staff also includes specialist software analysts, who -- among other things -- ensure that the standard ECUs are operating within prescribed limits, and that any engine mapping is not found to be in contravention of the rules.
Also on the technical side, the forthcoming departure of Herbie Blash and the eventual retirement of Charlie Whiting has seen the FIA actively recruit experienced technical staff to work in or alongside race control to ensure that future handovers of power happen as smoothly as possible.
The first such handover will see FIA Safety Delegate Laurent Mekies -- formerly chief engineer at Scuderia Toro Rosso -- take over the role of F1 deputy race director from the retiring Blash at the end of this year.
But if suggestions that Brawn is to return to the F1 paddock as some sort of technical lead under the new ownership prove to be correct, it implies a seismic change in the way that the sport will be structured looking forwards.
In recent years, we have seen FOM control the commercial aspect of the sport, negotiating deals with incoming circuits, providing the world broadcasting feed (and thereby shaping the narrative of each season), and securing global sponsors for Formula One. The commercial rights holder has as much input as any other stakeholder when it comes to rubber-stamping incoming regulations, but at no point has FOM had -- or needed! -- a technical chief with Brawn's level of expertise or experience.
Liberty Media have made no attempt to disguise their aims to turn F1 into a leaner, meaner, more profitable beast, but so far the discussion has centred on a centralised and global marketing strategy, of embracing new markets and finding different ways of ensuring that Formula One remains a profitable investment for many years to come.
That Ross Brawn's potential return as tech chief is being made in association with Liberty, and not with the actual regulator of the sport, suggests that there is much more in Liberty's philosophy than has been dreamt of in this paddock.
Le coeur a ses raisons que la raison ne connaît point. 
Ross Brawn, former Team Chef and Team Owner with an engineering background;
Alain Prost, former driver and Team Owner;
Elon Musk, entrepreneur and business man with environmental foresight
It's shaping up I hope - ah, I miss RB!
ESPNF1:
Another day, another story about Ross Brawn's imminent F1 return doing the rounds. But this particular version of the Brawn comeback epic comes with additional weight, as the source material is Brawn himself, via an interview with the Daily Telegraph.
"[Being nominated as a possible future sporting or technical chief] was nice to hear from Christian [Horner]," Brawn told the British newspaper. "That's how I like to be involved in the sport.
"I would never go back to a team. I did everything I can in a team, but I would be repeating myself. For sure, trying to help F1 in the future 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 for creating that plan and implementing it over time."
Whether or not Brawn decides to make a return to the sport that made him his fortune remains to be seen. But what is particularly interesting to note is that Brawn is -- allegedly -- being considered for a technical role by the sport's incoming owners, Liberty Media.
As things currently stand, sporting and technical regulations -- and the associated oversight --- are the responsibility of the FIA, the regulators and rulemakers of Formula One (and of a host of other motor sports besides). The FIA have a small stake in the F1 operating company, but there has been no suggestion from the Federation that they are expecting to hand over any of their regulatory powers when the sport changes ownership over the coming months.
In fact, the FIA has been beefing up its technical department in recent years. F1 technical delegate Jo Bauer boosted the size of his team in line with the regulatory changes seen in 2014, with new staffers assigned to ensure that fuel flows were within the mandated limits, while the additional number of components to be scrutineered once engines were replaced with multi-part power units also required extra pairs of hands to ensure that scrutineering could continue to take place in a timely fashion.
The FIA's technical staff also includes specialist software analysts, who -- among other things -- ensure that the standard ECUs are operating within prescribed limits, and that any engine mapping is not found to be in contravention of the rules.
Also on the technical side, the forthcoming departure of Herbie Blash and the eventual retirement of Charlie Whiting has seen the FIA actively recruit experienced technical staff to work in or alongside race control to ensure that future handovers of power happen as smoothly as possible.
The first such handover will see FIA Safety Delegate Laurent Mekies -- formerly chief engineer at Scuderia Toro Rosso -- take over the role of F1 deputy race director from the retiring Blash at the end of this year.
But if suggestions that Brawn is to return to the F1 paddock as some sort of technical lead under the new ownership prove to be correct, it implies a seismic change in the way that the sport will be structured looking forwards.
In recent years, we have seen FOM control the commercial aspect of the sport, negotiating deals with incoming circuits, providing the world broadcasting feed (and thereby shaping the narrative of each season), and securing global sponsors for Formula One. The commercial rights holder has as much input as any other stakeholder when it comes to rubber-stamping incoming regulations, but at no point has FOM had -- or needed! -- a technical chief with Brawn's level of expertise or experience.
Liberty Media have made no attempt to disguise their aims to turn F1 into a leaner, meaner, more profitable beast, but so far the discussion has centred on a centralised and global marketing strategy, of embracing new markets and finding different ways of ensuring that Formula One remains a profitable investment for many years to come.
That Ross Brawn's potential return as tech chief is being made in association with Liberty, and not with the actual regulator of the sport, suggests that there is much more in Liberty's philosophy than has been dreamt of in this paddock.
Le coeur a ses raisons que la raison ne connaît point. 
