Ross Brawn: “Liberty Media hope to keep Ferrari in the F1 fold after 2020”. Ross Brawn pointed to MotoGP as an example of a series that is not as fast as Formula 1 but is arguably more exciting.

Formula One Managing Director of Motorsports Ross Brawn says he is hopeful that Liberty Media can find a way to talk Scuderia Ferrari out of leaving Formula 1 over possible changes to the series. Changes on the table include a spending cap and slowing the cars in the interest of balancing the field and improving the racing. So far, the Maranello team wants none of such changes and has threatened to leave F1 after the 2020 season.

Ross Brawn was once the technical boss during Scuderia Ferrari’s successful Michael Schumacher era and now serves as as sporting director for Liberty Media. He insists the Maranello-based Ferrari team is very important to Formula 1: “I worked for them for 10 years and carry them in my heart still,” Ross Brawn told German media outlet Auto Motor und Sport. “Ferrari is an icon, and I hope we will find a solution that will work for everyone. A great sport is great for everyone, and we do not want Ferrari to leave.”

However, Liberty Media intends to impose changes following the 2020 season — with or without the Italian side — and distribute power more evenly up and down the pit lane: “The sport should be fair to all participants, including Ferrari,” – Ross Brawn said. “Yes, it’s true that Ferrari has veto rights, but to my knowledge they (have) never used it. Perhaps they waved it around.”

As for the racing, Ross Brawn pointed to MotoGP as an example of a series that is not as fast as Formula 1 but is arguably more exciting: “A MotoGP bike is 30 seconds slower, but it still seems incredibly fast,” he said. “It’s more important to have cars that look good and can compete against one another. Does anyone complain that the times are 15 seconds slower when it rains?” – Formula One Managing Director of Motorsports Ross Brawn concluded, as reported by German media outlet Auto Motor und Sport.