Ross Brawn's already working on his master plan for 2010

Managing expectations: Ross Brawn (left with lead driver Jenson Button) has long been regarded as one of the best brains in Formula One, and once again appears to be backing up his reputation with results

David Smith

13 April 2012

It is typical of Ross Brawn that even before setting the Formula One season alight at the Australian Grand Prix he was planning for next year's championship.

Indeed, such was the dominance of Brawn GP in Melbourne, where Jenson Button and Rubens Barrichello claimed a sensational one-two finish, that the fledgling team could find themselves defending both the drivers' and constructors' titles in 2010.

Whatever the scenario, Brawn aims to be ready. "The 2010 regulations, with no refuelling, are quite different and we've got to start the 2010 car quite soon," he said. "We've got things happening to try and ensure that we stay competitive."

Thorough preparation is Brawn's forte, and the car which proved so effective in Australia is a classic product of his way of working.

When Brawn was hired by Honda at the tail-end of 2007, it was too late for him to exert any significant influence over the car for 2008. It didn't take him long to realise it was doomed to be a dog of a racer unloved by it's drivers, so an early decision was made to leave it be and instead direct all resources at 2009.

Button admitted it would not have been his chosen course of action. He recalled: "It is very difficult for a driver when you're trying to improve the car and suddenly the team stops working on it.

"You're left driving a car you're not that happy with, and it was a tough year. But looking back now you would say that 100 per cent it was the right decision, to look forward to 2009 and produce a car that wouldn't just be about getting into the points but would be getting the bigger results at the front."

Honda's shock announcement in December that they were quitting F1 caught everyone by surprise and the urbane Brawn, whose genesis as a technical genius lay in a posting as trainee engineer with the Atomic Energy Research Establishment at Harwell, now faced a dilemma.

Up to this point in his career he had left high-profile positions of power for others to fill. Instead, having got a grounding in motor racing with Williams, he worked diligently behind the scenes designing the Jaguar that was to win the 1991 World Sportscar Championship and later served as technical director of Flavio Briatore's Benetton team that took Michael Schumacher to back-to-back titles in 1994 and '95.

Brawn may not have been a well-known figure beyond the boundary of the circuit, but those in the business had taken note of his consistent successes. Principle among them was Luca di Montezemolo, president of a Ferrari team who in the mid-nineties were struggling to replicate former glories.

Di Montezemolo moved to form the dream team of Brawn and Schumacher who, between 1999 and 2004, inspired the Scuderia to win six constructors' and five drivers' world championships.

By the time Brawn quit Ferrari in 2006 to take a year's sabbatical, he had established himself as the sport's leading race tactician and had mastered the art of managing the disparate parts of an F1 team.

Now, having decided to take the plunge and assume control of his own championship challenger with an 11th hour buy-out of Honda, he will need all that acumen.

Button has seen the Brawn magic at work. He said: "People within the team listen to him because of his experience, and because of what he's achieved in Formula One."

And clearly, there are more achievements to come.

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Ross Brawn's already working on his master plan for 2010

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