Breaking news
Formula 1
Brawn: McLaren, Williams declines show F1 has "no mercy"
Williams and McLaren's struggles last season were proof that Formula 1 shows "no mercy" for teams that get things wrong, says sporting chief Ross Brawn.
Jonathan Noble Frankie Mao
Edited: Jan 8, 2019, 2:06 PM
Copy link
Share on Viber
Despite the two British outfits being amongst the most successful in F1 history, a raft of issues left them battling near the bottom of the grid in 2018 as their rivals stepped up their game.
Brawn, who is F1's managing director of motorsports, reckons that while a title-winning team like Mercedes has benefited from huge stability, staffing reshuffles at McLaren and Williams over recent years contributed to their woes.
"Mercedes still have the same people that I found there in 2007 and that is more than 10 years of stability," Brawn told Motorsport.com. "That's so important.
"I think Williams and McLaren, they went through changes and it always takes a while for those things to settle down. They are great teams with a great history, but unfortunately Formula 1 is not a great respecter of histories. It only respects what's going on track.
"We as Formula 1 very much want those teams to get back into a competitive position because they're great teams and great brands. But Formula 1 has no mercy.
"If you're not doing a first-class job you it's demonstrated every Sunday or every other Sunday. They have capacity to get back into a competitive place, but it's a tough job."
Editor-in-Chief's opinion:
Brawn also believes that a lack of stability at Ferrari, which lost its president Sergio Marchionne in the middle of last year, contributed to its failure to win the world championship again.
"It's nearly always a combination of things, it's never one single thing," added Brawn. "I think there was no doubt with Ferrari, the death of Sergio Marchionne had an impact.
"It was tragic in itself but it also had an impact on the team. For a man of his calibre and standing, it's always going to be a very destabilising situation for a while.
"But I think they will have looked at what they have learnt and Sebastian [Vettel] would look at what he's done. I think there's a strong chance that they will be there fighting [in 2019].
"You have to look at the Ferrari of two or three years ago to realise how much progress they have made. The fact we are talking about them coming close to winning a championship is quite an achievement over where they were two or three years ago.
"It's such a massive challenge to even win in Formula 1. But to win a championship is another level. So, you can talk about every team that doesn't win the championship as having its challenges."
We want your opinion!
What would you like to see on Motorsport.com?
Take our 5 minute survey.
- The Motorsport.com Team
Read and post comments
Read also :
Share Or Save This Story
Copy link
Share on Viber
Previous article Wehrlein joins Ferrari in F1 development role
Next article Formula 1 should slash downforce by "40-50%"
Top Comments
There are no comments at the moment. Would you like to write one?
View More & Comment
More from
Jonathan Noble
Brundle awarded OBE in King’s New Year’s honours
Formula 1
Formula 1
Brundle awarded OBE in King’s New Year’s honours
The new rules dilemma that will define the 2025 F1 season
Formula 1
Formula 1
The new rules dilemma that will define the 2025 F1 season
Verstappen issues Red Bull title warning in push for RB21 progress
Formula 1
Formula 1
Australian GP
Verstappen issues Red Bull title warning in push for RB21 progress
More from
McLaren
"Two steps forward, one step back" – Oscar Piastri explains the route out of McLaren's car woes
Formula 1
Formula 1
Mexican GP
"Two steps forward, one step back" – Oscar Piastri explains the route out of McLaren's car woes
Why McLaren gave team order to Oscar Piastri in F1 US GP
Formula 1
Formula 1
United States GP
Why McLaren gave team order to Oscar Piastri in F1 US GP
Latest news
Ducati copies swingarm fins and Aprilia responds with upgraded version
MotoGP
MGP MotoGP
Malaysian GP
21 min
Ducati copies swingarm fins and Aprilia responds with upgraded version
Jorge Martin concedes 2026 MotoGP title is “already lost” after Malaysian GP withdrawal
MotoGP
MGP MotoGP
Malaysian GP
1 h
Jorge Martin concedes 2026 MotoGP title is “already lost” after Malaysian GP withdrawal
Layne Riggs had no problem with teammate going for the win despite title fight
NASCAR Truck
NSTR NASCAR Truck
Martinsville
1 h
Layne Riggs had no problem with teammate going for the win despite title fight
MotoGP Malaysian GP: Alex Marquez claims pole from Marc Marquez; Jorge Martin out
MotoGP
MGP MotoGP
Malaysian GP
1 h
MotoGP Malaysian GP: Alex Marquez claims pole from Marc Marquez; Jorge Martin out
Feature
Discover prime content
Subscribe and access Motorsport.com with your ad-blocker.
From Formula 1 to MotoGP we report straight from the paddock because we love our sport, just like you. In order to keep delivering our expert journalism, our website uses advertising. Still, we want to give you the opportunity to enjoy an ad-free and tracker-free website and to continue using your adblocker.
You have 2 options:
- Become a subscriber.
- Disable your adblocker.
Subscribe now Already subscribed? Sign in here
Already disabled your adblocker?
Reload page
Manage Alerts
Subscribe