Brawn: "World championship is by no means over"

  • Published on 21 Sep 2017 11:39
  • comments 4
  • By: Rob Veenstra

F1 boss Ross Brawn has backed Sebastian Vettel to bounce back and continue to fight for the 2017 title. After Singapore, where the Ferrari driver was blamed for the first-corner crash, the Italian press said it was the death knell for Vettel's title hopes.

But Brawn, the F1 sporting boss, does not even agree that Singapore was clearly the German's fault. "Such a thing can always happen," he told Germany's Sport Bild. "It was a typical first lap accident," Brawn added.

And the Briton, who was the technical boss at Ferrari throughout the super-successful Michael Schumacher era, also backed Vettel to recover his 28 point deficit to Lewis Hamilton. "The world championship is by no means over," said Brawn. "There are still six races to go. Vettel and Ferrari are so strong that they can still win the world cup on their own power."

Brawn admitted that he has a soft spot for Vettel and Ferrari, saying the pairing reminds him of his time at Maranello with Schumacher. "It's inevitable that Sebastian and Ferrari remind me of my time at Ferrari," he admitted.

"Sebastian resembles Michael very much in the way he stands by the team and sees himself as part of the whole. And I recognise the same discipline and focus in bringing Ferrari back to the top. It will remain a tough battle between Lewis and him, but if he does it, he will have earned it," Brawn said. (GMM)

Replies (4)

Login to reply
  • As much as I admire and respect Ross, I have to disagree , its now a done deal.
    Congrats Lewis!

    • + 0
    • Sep 21 2017 - 15:07
  • f1dave

    Posts: 782

    As long as they keep penalizing drivers for mechanical failures there is no drivers championship.

    • + 0
    • Sep 21 2017 - 15:50
  • The constructor's championship is probably over, but with some luck it might not be too late for the driver's championship.

    • + 0
    • Sep 21 2017 - 16:07
  • blade

    Posts: 341

    Ross has to be the diplomat - it comes with the job. My heart tells me Lewis has the tied up now, head to head he's better than Vettel for me, sure he has highs and lows, don't we all? but when it comes down to it - Id put my money on Lewis doing the business every time. The only thing that Im worried about is reliability - I think Mercedes showed last year they were not as reliable as the Ferrari - it's surprising the issues they faced last year haven't resurfaced and I really hope they do not again this year ! Reliability cost Lewis the title in 2016, we could have been talking about Lewis heading for his fifth..... Vettel's good, but he's a hot head and when the pressure is on, he makes more mistakes, just look at the car ramming incident a couple races ago - that's why when it comes to it I don't think he would handle the pressure of a tight run in better than Hamilton - so, if its tight because of reliability, I;d still pick Hamilton ahead of Vettel in a tight run in. Hamilton's to lose. Roll on next race !

    • + 0
    • Sep 21 2017 - 21:16

BE Grand Prix of Belgium

Local time 

BEGrand Prix of Belgium

Local time 

World Championship standings 2024

Show full world champion standings

Test calendar

See full test schedule

Related news

Give your opinion!

Will Bottas challenge Hamilton for the world championship in 2020?

Formula 1 Calendar - 2024

Date
Grand Prix
Circuit
-
Bahrain
29 - Mar 2
Bahrain
7 - Mar 9
Saudi Arabia
22 - Mar 24
Australia
5 - Apr 7
Japan
19 - Apr 21
China
3 - May 5
United States of America
17 - May 19
Italy
24 - May 26
Monaco
7 - Jun 9
Canada
21 - Jun 23
Spain
28 - Jun 30
Austria
5 - Jul 7
United Kingdom
19 - Jul 21
Hungary
26 - Jul 28
Belgium
23 - Aug 25
Netherlands
30 - Sep 1
Italy
13 - Sep 15
Azerbaijan
20 - Sep 22
Singapore
18 - Oct 20
United States of America
25 - Oct 27
Mexico
1 - Nov 3
Brazil
22 - Nov 24
United States of America
29 - Dec 1
Qatar
6 - Dec 8
United Arab Emirates
See full schedule

Formula 1 Calendar - 2024

Date
Grand Prix & Circuit
29 - Mar 2
7 - Mar 9
Saudi Arabia Jeddah Street Circuit
22 - Mar 24
Australia Albert Park
5 - Apr 7
19 - Apr 21
3 - May 5
United States of America Miami International Autodrome
17 - May 19
24 - May 26
Monaco Monte Carlo
7 - Jun 9
21 - Jun 23
28 - Jun 30
Austria Red Bull Ring
5 - Jul 7
United Kingdom Silverstone
19 - Jul 21
Hungary Hungaroring
26 - Jul 28
23 - Aug 25
Netherlands Circuit Zandvoort
30 - Sep 1
Italy Monza
13 - Sep 15
Azerbaijan Baku City Circuit
20 - Sep 22
18 - Oct 20
United States of America Circuit of the Americas
25 - Oct 27
1 - Nov 3
Brazil Interlagos
22 - Nov 24
United States of America Las Vegas Street Circuit
29 - Dec 1
6 - Dec 8
United Arab Emirates Yas Marina Circuit
See full schedule

Driver profile

  • Team Mercedes
  • Points 3,173
  • Podiums 127
  • Grand Prix 189
  • Country GB
  • Date of b. Jan 7 1985 (39)
  • Place of b. Tewin, GB
  • Weight 68 kg
  • Length 1.74 m
Show full profile
show sidebar