Mercedes Confirm Brawn's Departure.

Confirmation came through on Thursday morning that Ross Brawn will be leaving the Mercedes F1 team at the end of the year.

Brawn shown the door?

The news didn't surprise me; however I'm left with the question, was he pushed? The official Mercedes statement suggests he wasn't, and also suggests that it was a joint decision. But looking in detail, it seems it has been part of the Mercedes plan. I quote the team statement here. “Following an extended period of open discussion between the team's key stakeholders, Ross has chosen to hand over the team leadership to Executive Director (Business) Toto Wolff and Executive Director (Technical) Paddy Lowe”. This to me suggested there may have been a push.
But there's more, the chairman of the Mercedes board of management Dr Dieter Zetsche, said in the teams statement, “Last winter, we restructured the management of our Formula 1 activities”. This was well documented at the time; many questioned at the time the future of Brawn. However Dr Zetsche continued, “The first step was to convince Toto Wolff to join us to run our Mercedes Benz motorsport activities and our Formula one company. The second step was the recruitment of Paddy Lowe during 2013. This gave us a clear succession plan for the time when Ross decided to step down from his current role, and that time has now come”.

Analysing the statement and the situation at the team, it appears that Mercedes only wanted Brawn for this short period of time. The company bought Brawn GP of course back in 2009 and Ross just continued his role. But the Mercedes game plan suggests they no longer want one of the most knowledgeable and successful technical brains that the sport has ever seen. I have to be honest, analysing everything, it appears to me that the team simply didn't want to compromise, and Brawn would have to do what he was told. At the Japanese Grand Prix earlier this year Ross Brawn confirmed to Sky Sports that there needs to be a clear definition of who is in charge.
Toto Wolff and Paddy Lowe now appear to be joint principles in the team, Wolff on the business and Lowe focusing on the technical side. It's a unique approach to team management, there are two equal leaders. Next year will be quite difficult to asses what affect his absence will have, as Brawn has developed the 2014 car. But come 2015 when they have to design one without him, that's when we will really see just how influential he has been.

Where next for Ross?

At this time it's difficult to know. Some say Williams are an option, but I think it's unlikely. The problem is he wanted a team principle position at Mercedes, so surely that's the position he would want at any future team. He isn't going to get that Williams, because its a family run team effectively and Claire Williams has that position in her sights after already being promoted to deputy team principle.

McLaren the next possibility? In all seriousness yes it is possible. Brawn's past links to Honda make this a strong possibility, the Japanese manufacture supplies engines to McLaren from 2015. However current team principle Martin Whitmarsh appears to have a firm grip on the team, but he's not exactly set the world alight with good performances this season. McLaren have been in the doldrums for some time now, they need a spark of genius to get them back on track. Brawn could well be that spark.
A return to Ferrari perhaps? He has been in contact with the team; he was seen talking privately to Stefano Domenicali on a number of occasions towards the end of the 2013 season. Ferrari were at their peak while Brawn in was there between 1997 and 2006. His partnership with Michael Schumacher was perhaps the most successful in F1 history, winning five world championship in a row. This was the most successful period for Ferrari in Formula 1. A return to the Scuderia would be welcomed by the team's fans. They haven't won a championship since 2007.

What does Tom think?

Personally I don't believe Ross Brawn would settle for anything less than a principles position at any team. He has arguably more knowledge and experience than anybody else in the paddock, his success speaks volumes. He will be in Formula 1 next season mark my words, he's already said he is excited by the technical challenges that lay ahead. Formula 1 is going through huge changes, more so than at any other time. I would personally like to see him return to Ferrari, but one cannot ignore the possibilities with McLaren. It really could go either way.