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For a second time in his career, Ross Brawn is to step away from the sport.
Just like Fernando Alonso and Kimi Raikkonen, Ross Brawn never fully left Formula 1 when he originally said he would. For the second time he’s set to step away from the sport. Being linked to 8 championship wins, it’s an end of an era. However… is this retirment for good?
Having originally retired in 2014, Ross Brawn only had three years of peace before coming back to the sport. This is similar to Fernando Alonso’s F1 retirement at the end of his McLaren years and Kimi Raikkonen in 2009.
What’s different with this Ross Brawn retirement, is that this departure does seem like it will be his final one. When Brawn originally retired in 2014, he left his role as Team Principal and technical director for specific teams. When he returned to the sport (in 2017) it was to actually work in management for Liberty Media.
At the end of last season, it was predicted that Brawn would leave sometime within the coming 2022 season and it seems that this prediction is coming true. Ross Brawn retirement is set to come at the end of the year.
2022 Duties
Brawn was originally brought back to the sport to oversee new technical and sporting regulations. With the new cars coming into effect this season, it seems fitting for Brawn to leave after their debut. It’s a logical end point in his career after successfully overseeing the move to closer racing.
The cars can race closer together and overtake more easily. It’s all worked out fine”
As F1 became owned by Liberty Media, Brawn was also concerned with the popularity of the sport and was involved in broadening the sport’s reach to different and new demographics. Brawn specifically mentioned to Sport 1 that he’s enjoyed engaging more women in the sport.
Today, I enjoy helping to generate new fans. For example, we have more female followers than before
Brawn said that he’s satisfied with what he’s accomplished with Liberty Media and is excited to “step back” from the sport and enjoy his personal life.
The Time Off
Speaking of what he will do in his downtime, Brawn listed spending time with grandchildren, fishing, and gardening.
Claiming that “life is about surviving”, it’s clear Brawn wants to enjoy his time off as the “Pandemic and Ukraine War” showed that life isn’t easy and that he wants to enjoy as much as he can.
That being said, Ross Brawn did admit that he would continue to be “available with expertise” but just happy to not be responsible for “areas” of the sport.
He also said that if he was to return in any aspect, it certainly won’t be to the pit wall.
Image Credit: SkySportsF1