Ross Brawn: “Ferrari has gone off the rails, like it did last year”

Several days later Sebastian Vettel's defeat (Ferrari) and the dominating success of Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes) at Suzuka (Japan), Ross Brawn went there with his little analysis in his usual letter sent to the media of the Formula 1.

The Motor Sports director within Liberty Media recognizes it directly, the phase of ease that Lewis Hamilton was unexpected for him. “During the summer break, I doubted whether Lewis and his team would be able to return so soon.” on Sebastian Vettel.

“Successful wins in Germany and Hungary offset his disappointment at being beaten at Silverstone (Britain). It was then very clear that Sebastian Vettel's technical package had been the best Mercedes had to face in the era of the hybrid turbo engine », explains the former technical director of Benetton or Ferrari.

“From Hockenheim (Germany), Lewis amassed 168 points out of a maximum of 175 points, while his opponent only collected 93. On some weekends, Lewis was perfect, while on others it was the team that helped him, as was the case in Sochi (Russia), or he just took advantage of the mistakes made by other drivers.”, continues the Briton.

Formerly of the Scuderia house, Ross Brawn does not hesitate to certify that “Ferrari has gone off the rails, as it did last year in September and October.”. " Until Monza (Italy), Ferrari looked capable of fighting for the Drivers' and Manufacturers' titles until the last race, but trips to Singapore, Russia and Japan put a damper on that, especially for the Drivers.

Compared to 2017, Ferrari reliability has improved (Sebastian Vettel abandoned the Japanese GP due to mechanical failure). So where is the problem ? There is no doubt that the brutal death of the leader of the firm, Sergio Marchionne, this summer, will have a major impact. He was an important reference within the team”, puts forward Ross Brawn as one of the explanations.