Brawn encouraged by initial signs of impact of new aero rules

It's early days still for F1's new rule changes but Ross Brawn, the sport's managing director of motorsport, liked what he saw in Melbourne last weekend.

F1 tweaked its aero rules ahead of the 2019 season in a bid to allow cars to follow each other more closely and promote overtaking.

Among the drivers, the jury is still out as to whether the changes will have a significant impact on the racing, with last weekend's full scale test conducted at a venue where overtaking has always been at a premium.

• Scenes from the paddock - Melbourne

However, compared to 2018, this year's Australian Grand Prix saw a 133 percent increase in the amount of overtaking, according to Brawn's numbers.

"Judging by the number of passing moves in the race; 14 this year (6 without DRS) compared to three in 2018, the initial signs are encouraging, especially as apart from the actual overtakes we saw some thrilling battles," assessed the Brit.

"Clearly those weren’t all down to the new aerodynamics, as the performance of the mid-field teams especially has closed up dramatically.

"However, several drivers said the cars felt more neutral when following another when compared to previous years.

"Here too, the Australian track isn’t the most accurate test, so I’d prefer to wait for at least another three races before drawing any conclusions. However, the initial signs are encouraging."

On the subject of the bonus point for fastest lap rule introduced this year, Brawn felt the scheme had perfectly fulfilled its purpose in Melbourne.

"The return to awarding a point to the driver and team who set the race fastest lap livened up the closing stages of the race, as Verstappen tried to nudge out Bottas, who had his hands on that particular prize," added Brawn.

"In a race in which the podium positions seemed set from early on, the fight to claim that one extra point, in the knowledge that it could be vitally important in the closing stages of the championship, certainly livened up the closing stages of the race.

"That was exactly what we and the FIA had in mind when it came up with the idea."

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