74 replies to this topic

[D.M.N.]

http://www.telegraph...th-McLaren.html

 

 

Good luck for the future Ross.  

[Buttoneer]

I wonder how long it will be before CVC calls?

[SophieB]

I wonder how long it will be before CVC calls?

I would be surprised if he takes the call, he sounds so definite. Wow, surprising news.

[TheNewStig]

Yes,they will need someone not so,hmm,Bernie.

[RealRacing]

Maybe he can open an ethics consulting firm with Flavio...

[Slartibartfast]

The fishing world doesn't know what's about to hit it. Competitive fly-fishing is about to be revolutionised: double-diffuser rods, flies with active traction-control...

[bauss]

I wonder how long it will be before CVC calls?

 

you know what, I actually never thought of that... Brawn will probably make a very good Bernie replacement... 

[Newbrray]

Adieu Ross. It was nice having you in F1, but you didn't have to sound so definite with your retirement plan, at least give us some hope.

[g1n]

so what stopped him from announcing this when he left Mercedes? Why the BS about 6 month break What was the point in dragging it out? meh..

[Ross Stonefeld]

you know what, I actually never thought of that... Brawn will probably make a very good Bernie replacement... 

 

Does Brawn have any commercial experience to speak of? No one would suggest Bernie in a technical role...

[Timstr11]

Those who have followed Brawn know that he has said on several occasions that he is not interested in commercial/business type roles

His forte is technical management.

Edited by Timstr11, 01 February 2014 - 16:26.

[BullHead]

The FiA could do with his tech approach. Might get better rules and policing

[zepunishment]

He's probably very rich by now, and he's probably decided he'd rather spend the rest of his life relaxing and enjoying his money rather than carry on with the grueling schedule that f1 forces on people at his level. If I were in his shoes, I'd probably do the same

 

All the best to him.

[sennafan24]

Ted Kravitz had a great point, it did not seem right seeing Mercedes without Brawn during testing.

 

Enjoy your retirement Ross, you reached highs with Ferrari and Brawn GP that people can only dream of.

[DS27]

Good luck to you Ross. Will be a shame not to see you around the paddock, but you have obviously decided F1 is not the be all and end all so why not do other things.

Maybe he saw how the cars looked and sounded in testing and thought, thats it!

[stairpotato]

Tbh in some ways I wish he'd retired at the end of the 2009 season.  From a career perspective I don't think there was any way to top what he achieved that year.

[halifaxf1fan]

Brawn is just reacting to being overlooked for the job at McLaren for the likes of Boullier.  Better for him to say his hat was never in the ring.  And of course his pretending to not care about F1 by going fishing is just icing on the cake.  But he just couldn't resist calling a press conference of F1 reporters in the middle of his fishing getaway just to tell then he doesn't think about F1 anymore!

Edited by halifaxf1fan, 01 February 2014 - 16:58.

[Dolph]

so what stopped him from announcing this when he left Mercedes? Why the BS about 6 month break What was the point in dragging it out? meh..

 

I don't think Ross Brawn owns an explanation. Its his life, not a reality television show. He can do what he wants.

[SCUDmissile]

I would love for him to take over Charlie if he comes back. He deserves this break. 

 

Alternatively a Byrne style relaxing 'consultant' job may also be waiting for him, whether at Merc or Ferrari.

[MaxisOne]

Tbh in some ways I wish he'd retired at the end of the 2009 season.  From a career perspective I don't think there was any way to top what he achieved that year.

 

 

 

I had felt that way also .. until i saw the fruits of his labour in the W04 last year.. That car may not have won the championship.. BUT.. ever since he had to lay off all those people to keep Brawn GP afloat he knew that he had to rebuild. He left Merc in very good shape and i appreciate his long term vision and methodology.  Added to that .. the man is no slouch in the courtroom..of the big technical cases he had before the FIA he won them..

Its refreshing to have someone who honestly tells it as it is when it comes to where his team is at in interviews.. direct and to the point no need to hide or beat around the bush.

Like him or not I think he has the respect of almost everyone in the paddock .. and that is no mean feat.

 

Enjoy the fishing Ross.. you earned it

[Dalin80]

so what stopped him from announcing this when he left Mercedes? Why the BS about 6 month break What was the point in dragging it out? meh..

 

 

Maybe he just wanted some time to think about one of the single largest decisions of his life.

 

Would be nice if he made the occasional trip to the GP's to fill a pundit slot.

[FullThrottleF1]

Ross Brawn to join BBC commentary team, you heard it here first!

[ArnageWRC]

Retiring from F1...... So, could he be off to the WEC? Or doing something else....

[Nonesuch]

I love this line: "a shock announcement to a fishing event in Aberdeenshire".

 

 

Anyway, 59 is a good time to do something else. It's not as if he needs to sideline his other interests for lack of money.

 

He was a great asset to his previous teams, and his decision to continue the Honda team in 2009 was quite a gamble. Given how Mercedes seems to be shaping up, he certainly has things to be proud of there as well.

Edited by Nonesuch, 01 February 2014 - 17:24.

[Khars]

I'll miss him, but not the struggling 3 years with Mercedes. It was a pity not to appoint him TP for Ferrari after his first sabbatical.

Honda remained a dream (earthdream), and then came a big surprise with BGP. I though he will have a struggling private team, but he was lucky: DD was not banned after the first races in 2009.

[Clatter]

so what stopped him from announcing this when he left Mercedes? Why the BS about 6 month break What was the point in dragging it out? meh..

Because he probably wanted a bit of time to think before making a final decision. These things are done to the persons concerned timetable, not yours.

[Clatter]

Brawn is just reacting to being overlooked for the job at McLaren for the likes of Boullier.  Better for him to say his hat was never in the ring.  And of course his pretending to not care about F1 by going fishing is just icing on the cake.  But he just couldn't resist calling a press conference of F1 reporters in the middle of his fishing getaway just to tell then he doesn't think about F1 anymore!

How do you know he was overlooked rather than turning it down?

[CHIUNDA]

There goes afew juicy Ross Brawn - Driver - Team permutations that I would have liked to see.

[KiloWatt]

This is going to soound selfish, but I'm most pleased, mainly because that means no other team will get him. If he were to join McLaren, I'd be petrified. He should be a lawyer.

As an aside, calls for his head on a silver platter were often demanded during the W02 days, and the latter part of the W03 days - members that visited those threads often will know exactly what Im talking about. I always felt this unfair.

I was dissapointed in the way he got ousted at Mercedes, too. Didnt get nearly the appreciation he deserved. He left Brackly unquestionably better than he found it.

[Akcy]

He can be back with Honda in '15.

[Fastcake]

I am sure Ross Brawn will find some way to occupy himself after a year or so enjoying a well deserved rest. He may not want to be back in the centre of things, but racing rarely leaves you completely. We might see him poking his nose around the paddock again...

[George Costanza]

Why did he have to retire quite early?

He had some great years ahead of him, IMO.

 

But, Ross, I wish you the best. One of the greatest technical directors ever and a very fine team owner.

[Guizotia]

 

"It's a fantastic honour to do the ceremonial opening of the River Dee. It's a river I've never had a chance to fish before because it is predominantly known as a spring river and in the spring I'm normally trying to sort out a Formula One car in Spain.

 

Brings back an interesting memory, from 3 - 4 years ago I think - during probably a Jerez test session but definitely on a Saturday.  I lived in Henley-on-Thames at the time and Ross Brawn lives (or at least lived) nearby.  On the Saturday, which was a test day, he was taking his wife clothes shopping in Henley.  She would go about the clothes shops while he would browse WHSmith or hang around his car (a Mercedes estate btw), and this is what he was doing on this day which on one level surprised me, but on another level I thought what can a TP really do day-to-day at a test session?

 

So he was "normally" either trying to sort out a Formula One car in Spain, or trying to sort out his wife's clothes requirements.  I guess neither can compete with fishing.

Edited by Guizotia, 01 February 2014 - 18:58.

[Coral]

Oh, how sad. I didn't expect him to retire completely from F1...he seems too young still.

 

Enjoy your retirement, Ross!

[SanDiegoGo]

Brawn is just reacting to being overlooked for the job at McLaren for the likes of Boullier.  Better for him to say his hat was never in the ring.  And of course his pretending to not care about F1 by going fishing is just icing on the cake.  But he just couldn't resist calling a press conference of F1 reporters in the middle of his fishing getaway just to tell then he doesn't think about F1 anymore!

 

Utterly clueless comment, even for here.

[halifaxf1fan]

How do you know he was overlooked rather than turning it down?

 

Don't know for sure of course but this 'fishin' trip' press conference certainly points in that direction.  If he had been offered a position he just would have said so but at the end of the day had decided to retire, etc.  I predict he will be back soon enough, I think he cares to much for F1. 

Edited by halifaxf1fan, 02 February 2014 - 16:21.

[EthanM]

Wish him well on his retirement, but something tells me he'll fish for 6 months or a year then he'll be looking for a challenge, and someone, somehow will convince him to return to F1. If it wasn't Ron maybe his old friend Luca will call with a JT v2 type job, which as far as I can tell is the type of job Ross wanted at Mercedes

[Newbrray]

Brawn is just reacting to being overlooked for the job at McLaren for the likes of Boullier.  Better for him to say his hat was never in the ring.  And of course his pretending to not care about F1 by going fishing is just icing on the cake.  But he just couldn't resist calling a press conference of F1 reporters in the middle of his fishing getaway just to tell then he doesn't think about F1 anymore!

 

Jeez…….

[Anders Torp]

I wonder how long it will be before CVC calls?

They won't call anyone who cares about F1.

[redbarron]

so what stopped him from announcing this when he left Mercedes? Why the BS about 6 month break What was the point in dragging it out? meh..

 

Maybe the MS accident has given him more perspective to enjoy his money and lead more of a family life?

[InSearchOfThe]

The FiA could do with his tech approach. Might get better rules and policing

Well as BoschKurve used to rant about ''Ross Brawn isn't anything more than a machinist who worked for March". That one always cracked me up.

Has anyone seen BK? His tirads were very amusing. He's probably doing backflips over this news.

 

Ross needs to head southern Florida and do some snook fishin'. Good eats and lots of topwater action. F1 will miss RB.

Edited by InSearchOfThe, 02 February 2014 - 00:23.

[DanardiF1]

Tbh in some ways I wish he'd retired at the end of the 2009 season.  From a career perspective I don't think there was any way to top what he achieved that year.

 

Perhaps he ideally wanted to, but Mercedes were only happy to buy it off him if he came as part of the package...

[Longtimefan]

Quite a shock.

I was really hoping he was heading to McLaren

F1 will miss him but enjoy your retirement Ross, you earned it.

[Kingshark]

Shame he won't be around to experience Merc's glory in 2014. He was a big part of creating it.

[fastlegs]

If Ross is looking for a different kind of challenge in his life there's always Formula E.

[f1RacingForever]

He'll be back. Money has a way of changing people's minds. Only question is where will he go?

[Velocifer]

Last Wednesday he was saying to wait till summer before deciding and never say never, now a few days later suddenly he says definitely never? Seems a bit weird and more than a coincidence that 4 days of testing is the difference between then and now.. What did he see or hear from there to put a lid on it all?

[Ian G]

He'll be back. Money has a way of changing people's minds. Only question is where will he go?

I agree,probaly 2015 with Honda as 12 Months fishing combined with watching ManU going downhill will be enough of a break.

[aditya-now]

Tbh in some ways I wish he'd retired at the end of the 2009 season.  From a career perspective I don't think there was any way to top what he achieved that year.

 

True in a way, yet even the Mercedes years continued to add to his stature. A great one has gone.

[CoolBreeze]

Good luck Ross. Always will be remembered for orchestrating Michaels countless triumphs at Ferrari, and Brawn GP assault!