Brawn: 2020 F1 season in many ways 'one of the best ever'

Ross Brawn has been the sporting director of Formula 1 since Liberty Media took over, and on Wednesday he told RaceFans.net that he will remain so for some time. He wants to continue the improvements made in recent years. 

He also saw the sport become more attractive again in 2020, although it was not all planned. The coronavirus crisis forced F1 to move to circuits that would otherwise not have been eligible for a Grand Prix. That variety was very popular with the fans and Brawn is keen to reflect that sentiment in future plans.

“That’s something we’re taking into consideration: should we think about a rotation of [venues] to get a little bit more variety?" Brawn also cites the variety of drivers who managed to win a Grand Prix as a positive development. Even though Mercedes were dominant for much of the season.

Bringing the field further together

"It should always be a meritocracy," Brawn said of Liberty Media's goal for Formula One. That means that teams and drivers are rewarded based on the performance they deliver. Making races artificially exciting is therefore not part of the sport, but they do want to bring the field closer together and in that respect 2020 was "one of the best years so far", says Brawn.

He bases this partly on the fact that Formula 1's presence on digital platforms has never been greater than last year. In that respect, the sport is also coming back from a major hiatus. When Bernie Ecclestone was still in charge of the sport, almost nothing was done with the internet. Ecclestone did not believe it could make money.