Brawn thinks in solutions: 'What I want to see are races with a different format'

Ross Brawn, the managing director of Formula One, says he is interested in diversifying the racing calendar. Rather than setting up each race weekend in a similar way, Brawn says it would be interesting to vary, in an attempt to attract new fans and give old fans a new dose of excitement. 

"What I would like to see is some weekends where we do run a different format, and we can judge what the responses are, so we don’t commit the whole championship to a new format.”

Brawn continued in conversation with Racefans.net: “That would be a sensible way to move forward, and find new avenues that would appeal to the fans and perhaps appeal to new fans. We don’t want to alienate our existing fans. We’re very loyal to our fan base. But if we can find ways of engaging with new fans, that would be for everyone’s benefit.”

Nevertheless, Brawn is convinced that experimentation should never undermine the excitement of the championship: "It should always be a meritocracy.

"What you don’t want to do is have a championship that’s spoiled because you’ve done something which creates strange results.”

Turkey as an example

Brawn pointed to the Turkish GP as an example of the positive effects an unpredictable race weekend can have on viewing pleasure. He explained, speaking to Racefans.net: “Turkey was a great example. We had some negative comments about grip levels and the conditions, yet it was one of the greatest races of the year. Everybody took something away from that, and it was very interesting to see the more experienced drivers come to the fore.”