Ross Brawn... decided to take a rest.Outgoing Mercedes team principal Ross Brawn will take a six-month sabbatical before deciding whether to return to the sport, the Briton said.
Brawn has been involved with team management in Formula One for over 35 years but will leave his current team at the end of the year and take time to decide where his future lies.
“I am refusing to discuss any possible future positions until at least next summer,” Brawn said.
“I want to clear my mind, take a rest and then decide if I want to return to F1, subject of course to any opportunities existing.”
The 59-year-old is widely credited as a key figure behind Michael Schumacher’s seven world titles at Benetton and Ferrari and also found success with his self-titled team in 2009, when Jenson Button won the world championship.
Brawn has already been linked in the media with roles at returning engine manufacturer Honda, the FIA, Williams and McLaren, the latter being a potential chance to team up with chairman Ross Dennis, who confirmed he had talked with Brawn.
Brawn will hand over his responsibilities at Mercedes to executive directors Toto Wolff and Paddy Lowe and formally leave the team on December 31.
Ecclestone’s court case
A British judge will rule next year on a $100 million damages claim brought against Formula One boss Bernie Ecclestone over his involvement in the 2005 sale of a stake in the motor racing business.
German company Constantin Medien alleges that Ecclestone, 83, was part of a “corrupt bargain” with a German banker to undervalue Formula One and favour the sale of a controlling stake to private equity fund CVC – which had agreed to keep Ecclestone on as chief executive of the business.
Constantin stood to gain a share of the proceeds had the stake been sold for more than $1 billion.
The seven-week trial ended on Friday.
Judge Guy Newey said he was reserving judgment on the case and did not set a date for delivering his verdict. He is expected to take several weeks to review the evidence, common in complex civil cases.