Guest Author - Christine Blachford

Ross Brawn is famous for his successful pairing with Michael Schumacher which saw the pair win Championship after Championship for Ferrari. His title was Technical Director, but in actual fact, his best job was to be the strategist and tactician on the pit wall during the races.

His quick thinking and ability to adapt to changes and problems has made him memorable and probably very rich. This year he has taken a sabbatical from Ferrari, presumably because he didn’t feel able to move on from Schumacher quite so quickly as a snap of the fingers.

After this year, however, he is no longer under contract with Ferrari and the big question lies over his future. Will he resign with the reds? Or will he retire completely? The newest rumour on the block is that he will sign a contract with Japanese outfit Honda.

The man has made no secret of the fact that he wants to return to Britain, and Honda’s UK-based factory would allow that to happen. It’s also widely known that Brawn loves to take a team that are, perhaps, floundering, and shake them up. He has done that for two teams so far, Bennetton and Ferrari. Perhaps he wants to make it a hat-trick with Honda.

It would be a sensible decision for Brawn, but then you also have to wonder if Ferrari are going to want him to take that route. They are notoriously secretive about their technologies and the goings on behind closed doors. They are the only team who will not allow access to team radio during the race, only after the race is completed. I can’t imagine they would be too happy about Brawn deserting them for Honda, and perhaps passing along some of the secrets that made Ferrari so successful in previous years.

But it’s a sport, and it’s a fair game, and Brawn should be allowed to work wherever he wants to. The question is would he want to abandon such a well known team and work for someone who seem to be going backwards. Technology and design bods love to have a challenge, love something they can get their teeth into and really make it work where others have failed.

Both Honda drivers have spent the last few weeks complaining about how the car just doesn’t work, and they are pushing as hard as they can but it isn’t getting them anywhere. With someone like Brawn on the team, it would no doubt be a huge morale boost, even if it took a while for his knowledge to take effect.