Category Archives: F1 News

Ross Brawn is to leave the Mercedes team on December 31, handing the reins to Toto Wolff and Paddy Lowe.

The team said that the following “an extended period of open discussion between the team’s key stakeholder Ross has chosen to hand over the team leadership to Executive Director (Business) Toto Wolff and Executive Director (Technical) Paddy Lowe.”

It remains to be seen whether Brawn has plans to go elsewhere, although rumours persist that he could yet return to Ferrari.

Brawn said: “The most important consideration in my decision to step down from the role as Team Principal was to ensure that the timing was right for the team in order to ensure its future success.

“The succession planning process that we have implemented during this year means we are now ready to conduct the transition from my current responsibilities to a new leadership team composed of Toto and Paddy.

“Mercedes-Benz has invested significantly in both the personnel and infrastructure at Brackley and Brixworth. Thanks to the one-team approach we have implemented between the two facilities, the team is uniquely positioned to succeed in 2014 and I am proud to have helped lay the foundations for that success.

“However, 2014 will mark the beginning of a new era in the sport. We therefore felt this was the right time to simultaneously begin a new era of team management to ensure that the organisation is in the strongest possible competitive position for the years to come.

“We can take pride not just in our on-track achievements but also in the organisation we have built at Brackley. In its different guises over the past six seasons, this team has delivered some of the most memorable moments of my career. Our second place in this season’s Constructors’ Championship is an important milestone on the road to championship success.

“I am confident that the future will hold just as much success for the team and will take real pride in having played my own part in those achievements.”

Niki Lauda said: “First of all and most importantly, we must say thank you to Ross. When you consider the step that has been made from finishing fifth in 2012 to the second place that we have secured this season, he has been the architect of this success. He put the plans in place to recruit key people since early 2011, and the performance this season shows that the team is on the right track.

“We have had long discussions with Ross about how he could continue with the team but it is a basic fact that you cannot hold somebody back when they have chosen to move on. Ross has decided that this is the right time to hand over the reins to Toto and Paddy and we respect his decision. Toto and Paddy are the right people to lead our team in 2014 and beyond.”

Daimler boss Dr Dieter Zetsche added: “Last winter, we restructured the management of our Formula One activities, with the support of Niki Lauda. 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. I have every confidence that Toto and Paddy will build on Ross’ good work and that they possess exactly the balance of skills required to lead our team to world championship success.

“I would like to personally thank Ross for the calm authority with which he has led our works team since 2010, for his crucial contribution to our team’s development and also for the undoubted share he will have in our future success. It has been a pleasure working with him over the past four years and I extend all my very best wishes to him for the future.”

Luca di Montezemolo has taken a pop at both the FIA and Bernie Ecclestone in an Italian TV interview, which has been excerpted on the Ferrari website.

Never afraid to speak his mind, the Italian marque’s president said that Jean Todt has to make changes in his second term as the head of the FIA.

“Todt will be reconfirmed and I expect strong changes,” he said. “Because for too many years the Federation has always been the same and, as in everything, a change is required. Having said that, a strong sporting authority is always a priority for Ferrari.”

He also had a dig at the FIA with regard to the drive through penalty Massa received in Brazil.

“I think it was disproportionate and unjust, as was Hamilton’s. If Felipe had stayed in fourth place, we would have been second in the Constructors’ championship. Every so often, the gentlemen who come to the races to act as Stewards make decisions that are a bit ridiculous and anachronistic. One needs to be careful that we maintain credibility, for the work of the teams that invest money and for the drivers who risk their lives.”

Montezemolo dismissed the idea that Christian Horner was regarded as a potential successor by Bernie Ecclestone: “As the years go by, he more and more enjoys making jokes and I’m happy he still has the desire to do so…”

He also denied that suggestions that Ferrari doesn’t have political weight.

“This story has been doing the rounds since I worked with Enzo Ferrari in the Seventies. We have reached an agreement with Ecclestone and the FIA and we are the only team with the right of veto: more political weight than that is impossible! We are aware of our strength in Formula 1, which without us, would be completely different. Having said that, it’s true that weight also comes from having a winning car and that was lacking. The rest is all gossip.”