Vettel behaviour wrong but passion should prevail - Brawn

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Ross Brawn certainly won't condone Sebastian Vettel's impulsive action in Baku, but F1's sporting manager believes it reflects a passion which must remain intact.

Everybody and their dog seems to have an opinion on the events that unfolded last weekend in Azerrbaijan, but as a prominent figure of the F1 community Ross Brawn is someone worth listening to.

The former Ferrari strategist certainly saw his fair share of dubious moves back in the days of Michael Schumacher, but Brawn is looking beyond the cold facts to extract what may be the most important aspect of the Hamilton-Vettel clash.

"Sebastian did something he shouldn't have done and got penalised for it," Brawn told the BBC.

"If we hadn't had a technical problem we would be sat here with Lewis having scored substantially more points than he did, so Lewis would have won the race and that would have resulted in a different complexion.

"It wasn't pre-meditated that's for sure, it was reaction to huge amount of adrenalin and passion running through these guys' systems."

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The main culprit at the basis of the incident is a burning passion contends Brawn, something he believes should remain at the forefront of racing, although not in its ill-advised form obviously.

"It shouldn't have happened; it shows the passion of the guys fighting for the World Championship. That's the passion we want to see.

"Sebastian will reflect on what happened and learn from it. We want to see that passion in the future but perhaps not as raw as we saw in Baku."

Furthermore, Brawn doesn't believe that the mutual respect professed by Hamilton and Vettel has vanished despite the Brit saying his rival had disgraced himself.

"There's huge respect between them and that hasn't changed," Brawn added. "There's a spike in that respect which will calm down.

"You don't have one incident which destroys everything before. It wasn't that severe of an event. Some fierce competition fought in the right way is what Formula 1 is about," added F1's sporting chief.

"Perhaps this will add a nice edge to the competition but we're not advocating one approach of the other.

"There was heat, several red hot moments and your perception of what's going on can sometimes get through.

"I don't believe Lewis did anything wrong and Sebastian misread the situation, which is understandable in the intensity of the battle they were having."

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Phillip van Osten

Motor racing was a backdrop from the outset in Phillip van Osten's life. Born in Southern California, Phillip grew up with the sights and sounds of fast cars thanks to his father, Dick van Osten, an editor and writer for Auto Speed and Sport and Motor Trend. Phillip's passion for racing grew even more when his family moved to Europe and he became acquainted with the extraordinary world of Grand Prix racing. He was an early contributor to the monthly French F1i Magazine, often providing a historic or business perspective on Formula 1's affairs. In 2012, he co-authored along with fellow journalist Pierre Van Vliet the English-language adaptation of a limited edition book devoted to the great Belgian driver Jacky Ickx. He also authored "The American Legacy in Formula 1", a book which recounts the trials and tribulations of American drivers in Grand Prix racing. Phillip is also a commentator for Belgian broadcaster Be.TV for the US Indycar series.