Inside Line: Ferrari pave the way for the return of Ross Brawn to Maranello

Stefano Domenicali finally relinquished his post as team principal of Ferrari, for many the decision was long ovedue and although he resigned the post the truth is he was sent packing but given the diginified option of resignation – arrivederci Stefano, bygones are bygones let’s move forward…
Formula 1′s most famous team is desperate for stout leadership and there is only one man on the planet capable of fulfilling the requirement – Ross Brawn – and word is that F1 unknown Marco Mattiacci is only in the post for a stop gap measure while Brawn finishes his fishing adventures.
Mattiacci, president and CEO of Ferrari North America, is simply underqualified and totally inexperienced for the role, thus obviously a temporary measure.
The final decision to oust Domencali would have been made during the Bahrain Grand Prix weekend where Luca di Montezemolo made a dramatic appearance at the event, leaving the race in disgust long before the finish. He also had some not so secret meetings with Fernando Alonso in the latter’s hotel room.

Between then and now Montezemolo is said to have done a deal with Brawn and engineered Mattiacci’s repositioning within the organsiation while they mark time before Brawn rejoins the team.
No one can forget that Brawn was one of the key members of the most successful Formula 1 team in history which saw Michael Schumacher win five titles between 2000 and 2004, under the leadership of Jean Todt. Brawn has that blueprint to work from.
What Brawn touches tends to win. He went to Honda and engineered them into a winning outfit, alas for Honda they pulled out just as their investment was to pay off. Instead Brawn GP (built with Honda resources) won the 2009 drivers and contructors titles.
Brawn’s tenure at Mercedes also helped them on the road to success. Toto Wolff is the first to acknowledge that Mercedes’ current success and even the W05 is packed with Brawn’s fingerprints.

Furthermore, Brawn knows the intricate and ever so volatile inner working of Maranello better than most non-Italians and this will enable him to galvanise the team which is currently split into subtle factions.
But perhaps most importantly, having worked with the great Schumacher, he will have the know-how to pacify a visibly disgruntled Fernando Alonso who is being openly flirted with by McLaren, and an equally frustrated Kimi Raikkonen.
The truth is that for now Brawn will not be able to take the woeful Ferrari F14T and turn it into a winner, but he will inject a breath of fresh air into the team which is ready for a constructive revolution.
The return of Ross from his extended fishing trip cannot happen fast enough for the Reds. (Inside Line by Paul Velasco)
Subbed by AJN.