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F1 Mexican GP: Ross Brawn plays down F1 chief talk

Ross Brawn has denied reports he is being lined up to succeed Bernie Ecclestone as F1 chief, insisting he is simply 'doing a little consultancy' for the Liberty Group.

Having revealed he would be prepared to return to F1 in a managerial capacity three years after quitting his last post in F1 with the Mercedes team, reports this week from German publication Autobild indicated he had already agreed a deal that would see him take over at the top from Ecclestone.

However, Brawn - who masterminded title wins with Benetton, Ferrari and his own BrawnGP outfit - has played down the significance of the talks.

Indeed, while he reveals he has started work for F1's new owners the Liberty Group, he says it is currently only as far as consultancy work.

"Liberty have not got far enough down the road to make any commitments yet," he told the BBC.
"I'm doing a little consulting to help them better understand F1 but that's all."

Going on to say that it 'all depends' what Ecclestone does in the future, though the 86 year-old's role hasn't changed amidst Liberty's take over, there are rumours the long-term plan is to have a change of leadership, with Brawn identified as the favoured candidate.

Brawn has long been pursued for a role within F1 since leaving Mercedes in the wake of a managerial dispute with Toto Wolff and Niki Lauda.

Several team principals identified him as a candidate for a proposed 'independent technical advisor' role to help forge a direction for the sport's regulations and delegate influence away from teams themselves.

Zdroj: crash.net