Brawn closes the curtain: 'I will now watch F1 from my sofa'

Ross Brawn, Formula 1's managing director of motorsports, has confirmed his retirement from the sport.

Brawn's distinguished career as a designer and technical director in F1 yielded massive success with Benetton and Ferrari, and as a team owner the Briton won the world title in 2009 with Brawn GP, the outfit that would later serve as the foundation for the mighty Mercedes team.

The Briton retired from F1 in 2014 after leaving the Brackley squad but was called upon in 2017 by F1 commercial rights owner Liberty Media in 2017 to manage the dawn of the sport's new era.

Over the years, Brawn oversaw Grand Prix racing's regulatory and technical transformation that led to the sport's regulation overhaul and the introduction at the start of this year of a new-generation F1 car based on ground effects.

In a column published on Formula 1's official website, Brawn looked back with fondness, not only on his recent years at the helm of the sport, but also on his motorsport career as a whole.

"I’ve loved everything I’ve done in the last few years," he said.

"I’d moved away from wanting to be part of a team – I decided I’d done enough of that! And this was the only thing that could have possibly appealed.

"I’ve been very fortunate to have been given the opportunity by Liberty and it was a labour of love.

"Now is the right time for me to retire. We have done the bulk of the work, and we are in a consolidation period now.

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"There’s a new car coming in 2026, but that’s four years away, quite distant for me, so it’s better the next group of people take on that mantle. I believe I’m leaving F1 in a great place.

"I’ve loved almost every minute of my 46-year career and I’ve been fortunate to have worked with many great teams, great drivers and great people.

"I wouldn’t have changed a thing. One certainty is that without my wife and family support I couldn’t have done it and I wouldn’t have wanted to do it.

"I will now watch F1 from my sofa, cheering and cursing as an F1 fan, pleased that the sport is in a fantastic place and has such a fantastic future.

"Here’s to great racing."

So far, Formula 1 has made no mention of who may eventually succeed Brawn as the sport's managing director or F1's technical director.

Furthermore, the confirmation of the Briton's retirement also puts to rest rumors that emerged over the weekend that Brawn was being lined up for a return to Maranello as the team's new team principal of the Scuderia in replacement of Mattia Binotto.

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