Ross Brawn Retires From F-1

"f86sabre" (f86sabre) 02/01/2014 at 11:26 • Filed to: F-1, Brawn

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Ross Brawn, the mastermind of championships at Benneton and Ferarri has announced his retirement at, of all things, a fishing event !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! . Brawn, an avid fisherman, as well as F-1 brain without equal, has said he wants to take time to fish and relax. That said, he said you can never say never...

I've always liked Ross and how he operated. He seemed to be honest and straight to the point. He also seemed to enjoy what he was doing. Brawn started his working career at the UK Atomic Energy Authority and entered racing in 1976 with March. He then went to Williams in 1978 as a machinist.

In 1991, after a few more team moves and upward movement, he was at Jaguar and was the lead designer on the XJR-14, which won the World Championship. From there it was onto Benneton and the birth of the Schumacher era. Brawn, Schmacher, Briatore and Symonds made a potent team that brought multiple championships to the multicolored team.

In 1997 he went to Ferrari and helped make it the juggernaut it was from the late '90s through the '00s with Schumacher and Jean Todt.

After that it was a difficult time at Honda GP in 2008 that ended with him buying the team for next to nothing when Honda pulled out. 2009, after scraping for funds and desperately working to keep the team together, he and Jenson Button won the World Championships with a cleverly designed car, some great driving and a good bit of luck.

When the team was bought out by Mercedes, at a nice profit to Ross, he stayed on and headed the team and partially brought about Michael Schumacher's return. While Schumacher and Rosberg weren't as successful as hoped, the team was stable and preforming reasonably well. The last couple of years have seen a shake up in leadership at Mercedes GP there have been rumbles of what Ross would do. There where hints that he wasn't perfectly happy with what was going on and he left the team last fall. With this announcement, I suppose we can see what his plans are.

Brawn looks like the type who is perfectly happy with an afternoon in hip boots. I certainly hope he enjoys himself .

Images from grandprix247.com, imalbum.aufeminin.com, autoevolution.com and grandprix.com

Honesty > f86sabre 02/01/2014 at 11:35

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NOOOOOOOOOOOOO!

daender > f86sabre 02/01/2014 at 11:35

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I'll always remember his F1 legacy as that beautiful 2009 season winning against all odds and Vettel.

3SSF0UR_D3TR0IT > Honesty 02/01/2014 at 11:41

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Say it aint so! who is set to lead Mercedes to the championship this year?

For Sweden > f86sabre 02/01/2014 at 11:41

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I hear Lotus needs a new boss...does Lotus have a fish pond?

getchapopcorn > daender 02/01/2014 at 11:42

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2009?

dmcspeedy > f86sabre 02/01/2014 at 11:42

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I guess that Newey's place being taken by Eric Boullier means that there isn't a vacancy at a top team for Brawn to slot into right now. Wouldn't be surprised to see him back next time there's a reshuffle at another of the big teams.

xcheck44 > daender 02/01/2014 at 11:43

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I remember Jenson Button saying that he knew that their 2010 car was very special during the first test of that season. When Jenson won their first race, I was so excited about seeing a basically blank car getting all the press. It was a magical year due to Ross Brawn and his team of geniuses finding the loop hole in that year's rulebook that allowed them to create the double-diffuser. If I remember correctly Williams and Toyota had something similar, and of course the cries of "foul!" by the other teams was thankfully swept aside by the FIA.

I think it is safe to say that Ross will be back next year. The fun part will be guessing with whom?

dmcspeedy > daender 02/01/2014 at 11:44

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That's really one for the record books.

Brawn GP -

Seasons contested: 1

Drivers' championships: 1

Constructors' championships: 1

squelchuk > daender 02/01/2014 at 11:45

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Errr.... you mean 2009. Sorry to be a pedant and all

daender > squelchuk 02/01/2014 at 11:47

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Good catch, thanks!

daender > getchapopcorn 02/01/2014 at 11:47

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My mistake, lol. Got the years confused.

Pitchblende > daender 02/01/2014 at 11:52

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He said at his entry to the autosport hall of fame that his win with the Brawn team and Jensen Button was his crowning achievement, beating his wins with Ferrari.

Somethingwittyer likes noisy > f86sabre 02/01/2014 at 11:54

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Shame, Ross always seemed like a forward thinking and level headed dude. I'll always remember him for making this generation's ground effect, the double diffuser. Anyway I do hope this isn't due to health complications, something which has been rumored.

Serious332ci > Somethingwittyer likes noisy 02/01/2014 at 12:00

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when RB bought honda F1 in 2009, it was rumored the 2009 honda f1 project was the most expensive F1 car in history... apparently they had gone down 3 separate development paths simultaneously. Truth be told RB stumbled across the double diffuser as it was most certainly conceived & developed when the team was under honda control. RB pretty much slotted in the merc engine and went testing. It's still a fantastic story though.

getchapopcorn > daender 02/01/2014 at 12:08

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No worries — just making sure I hadn't done that haha!

McMike > f86sabre 02/01/2014 at 12:19

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My head, 15 seconds ago.

Axel-Ripper > f86sabre 02/01/2014 at 12:42

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So he's going to take a year off then come back with Honda.

McMike > f86sabre 02/01/2014 at 12:43

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Ross in 1975

via Wikipedia

GearHeadfromBrazil > McMike 02/01/2014 at 13:07

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I went to the Interlagos GP in 2009. Every Brawn GP item price was sky high!

Man, I want one of those.

McMike > GearHeadfromBrazil 02/01/2014 at 13:20

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I bought a hat and a lanyard as soon as the Mercedes announcement was made. I don't remember them being more expensive than the other gear at the time.

dapper_otter > For Sweden 02/01/2014 at 13:25

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I don't think managing Maldanado is the kind of prospect that would draw him out of retirement.

Also_Ran > f86sabre 02/01/2014 at 13:25

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You need to add Rory Byrne to your Benetton/Ferrari line-ups.

montyburners > Axel-Ripper 02/01/2014 at 13:28

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god i hope so.

guidon > f86sabre 02/01/2014 at 13:29

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I recall a not too distant interview where he pretty much telegraphed his intention to move-on. Perhaps after the Mercedes acquisition he had a contractual obligation to remain (with Mercedes) for a period of time. He'll be a loss to the sport of Formula 1 but more power to him! He worked hard, he was extremely successful and he deserves to enjoy his time and money however he wants!

dapper_otter > dmcspeedy 02/01/2014 at 13:33

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I think you might be mixed up. Newey hasn't gone anywhere, he's still at RBR. Boullier went to McLaren. Brawn came from Mercedes and I don't believe they have announced a replacement.

GearHeadfromBrazil > McMike 02/01/2014 at 13:47

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Maybe because I was at Brazil and Rubens was driving for them at the time.

McMike > GearHeadfromBrazil 02/01/2014 at 13:51

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I'm sure they're more expensive at the circuit, was it more expensive than the other gear there, too?

SaiDas > For Sweden 02/01/2014 at 14:22

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It surely has a Lotus pond so one would assume so.

GearHeadfromBrazil > McMike 02/01/2014 at 15:02

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Yep. Up to three times the price of a Ferrari one.

Also, Ferrari team wear is always the cheapest ones. No wonder there are so much tiffosi around here in Brazil.

alan666 > f86sabre 02/01/2014 at 15:03

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I bet he will end up taking over from Bernie in running F1.

joshua192 > dmcspeedy 02/01/2014 at 15:29

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You mean Whitmarsh not Newey

Nitzer Ebblestone > f86sabre 02/01/2014 at 15:58

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Mercedes must really have done a number on him. Then again he has more money than God who has less money than Bernie so enjoy it Ross! If he comes back I will be more than happy to see him but I completely understand the desire to get as far away from the political, back-stabbing two-faced middle-management dick-heads that comprise Formula One these days (and pretty much any large corporation).

dmcspeedy > dapper_otter 02/01/2014 at 16:18

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Yes, I meant Martin Whitmarsh and typed Newey for some reason!

dmcspeedy > joshua192 02/01/2014 at 16:18

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I do indeed ... not sure why I typed Newey.

McMike > GearHeadfromBrazil 02/01/2014 at 16:28

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We'll see how many Ferrari fans there are in Brazil this year. :)

GearHeadfromBrazil > McMike 02/01/2014 at 16:57

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I don't think it will change much.

Felipe is the 6th brazilian driver to race a Williams car. Before him there was B. Senna, R. Barrichello, A. Pizzonia, A. Senna and N. Piquet. After Mclaren, this team is the one where brazilian drivers found most sucess at and, still, the italian team is the one with most fans.

dedoverde_uk > Axel-Ripper 02/01/2014 at 17:57

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...or even Ferrari, just not in F1 perhaps but LMP1 .

ComradeSlow > For Sweden 02/01/2014 at 22:25

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it's mortgaged to the gills...