Ross Brawn leaves Mercedes

[GitanesBlondes]

If anything it'd be front-running.

[autogyro]

Ross is probably thinking along the same lines as many others in important F1 positions.
There is no certain way to predict how the competition is going to pan out for 2014 with such radical change.
He is not at the base of the ladder where a gamble on success might work.
Ross is already there with plenty to lose and little to gain.
Adrian is the one most vulnerable for 2014.

[Sulman]

When Mercedes were buying in all this talent I was reminded of Jackie Stewart's comments on Ford when they took over Stewart Grand Prix.

Manufacturers - with the possible exception of Ferrari - don't really get F1. I'll wager that Brawn's strength - technical knowledge aside - is outstanding leadership. He recognised that the Mercedes strategy wasn't working and decided he'd be better off elsewhere. Right now you have a ridiculous situation at Mercedes where the suggestion is that it's too big for one man to lead. Utter crap.

Smart man.

[zeph]

About manufacturers not really getting F1:

I read a similar analysis back when Toyota opted out. I don't remember who wrote it, but he identified the problem as a corporate one. Toyota had the biggest budget in F1, a lot of know-how etc. and failed to win even a single GP.
The writer was of the opinion that the corporate decision structure hampered the team's ability to make the quick decisions often necessary in F1.
Over the course of a season, a lot of changes are implemented (some saying that as much as 80% of the car is completely different by the end of the season) and team directors need to think fast and act fast.
While Toyota had the budget and talent to succeed, they adopted a "corporate-style-board-of-directors" type of management approach to run the F1 team, where every decision had to be approved by the board etc. and it effectively left the team incapable of implementing changes quickly.

That is what I remember of the article anyway, which also mentioned that their HQ in Germany was considered an undesirable workplace for much of the British engineering talent that permeates F1.

I hope -for their sake- that Mercedes has studied Toyota's F1 mishap and will avoid similar pitfalls.

[Skippon]

That is what I remember of the article anyway, which also mentioned that their HQ in Germany was considered an undesirable workplace for much of the British engineering talent that permeates F1.

Even Mercedes as a key part of German Engineering bases all its F! operations Engine and Chassis in England!

[Pup]

I hope -for their sake- that Mercedes has studied Toyota's F1 mishap and will avoid similar pitfalls.

Evidence to date suggests they have not. Bringing in replacements for both Haug and Brawn after just three seasons? What would we think of Newey today had Red Bull given him but three seasons to win a title?

I mean, the reason they bought Brawn in the first place was so they could have full say in how their flagship team was run.

And it's not just Toyota. BMW is probably the better comparison. It went well, also.

[GitanesBlondes]

I hope -for their sake- that Mercedes has studied Toyota's F1 mishap and will avoid similar pitfalls.

Evidence to date suggests they have not. Bringing in replacements for both Haug and Brawn after just three seasons? What would we think of Newey today had Red Bull given him but three seasons to win a title?

I mean, the reason they bought Brawn in the first place was so they could have full say in how their flagship team was run.

And it's not just Toyota. BMW is probably the better comparison. It went well, also.

Haug should have been sacked many years ago for an unrelated-to-F1 motorsport incident (CLK-GTR Le Mans debacles) so I feel his sacking was long overdue anyway.

[zeph]

I hope -for their sake- that Mercedes has studied Toyota's F1 mishap and will avoid similar pitfalls.

Evidence to date suggests they have not. Bringing in replacements for both Haug and Brawn after just three seasons? What would we think of Newey today had Red Bull given him but three seasons to win a title?

I mean, the reason they bought Brawn in the first place was so they could have full say in how their flagship team was run.

And it's not just Toyota. BMW is probably the better comparison. It went well, also.

It would appear so.

OTOH, Martin Whitmarsh just went on record saying that Mercedes is the favorite for the 2014 challenge:

http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/111743

And to be fair, neither Toyota nor BMW had drivers like Hamilton. Or, indeed, the amount of technical talent that MercedesGP has poached from competitors. I think having their HQ in Brackley rather than in Cologne, Munich or Hinwil may prove to have been a key factor in this.

And finally, while they haven't exactly set the world on fire, they are already more successful than both Toyota and BMW ever were.

[FoxHound]

Mercedes have actually won races.
Toyota have won nothing.

Brawn leaving the team will be a seamless transition as he doesnt actually add anything to the design of the cars.
My overridding impression of the acquisition of Lowe's services, is that it was at the behest of Lewis joining the team.
We can chew the fat on comings and goings all we like...but this is something that not just isolated to mercedes.

More technically involved personell are leaving other teams, like Prodromou to macca and various others to ferrari/mercedes.

Brawn left to take a sabbatical for ferrari in 2006, and yet they still won the 2007 wdc wcc and the 2008 wcc and nearly claiming the wdc (massa hamilton).
That's 2 full years of success without the much vaunted Brawn.