New Formula One bosses need to get rid of the complicated rules in order to keep fans, according to Ross Brawn.
Last season, vague or complicated rules led to confusion on multiple occasions and Brawn, who will take on the managing director role in the new F1 boardroom, thinks these need to be simplified to keep the sport appealing to fans.
“We know what fans want: they want entertainment, they want close racing, they want to be able to understand what’s going on,” Brawn told BBC Radio 5 Live. “And I think everyone agrees on that… I think simplicity is a key objective for the future. I’ve watched F1 for the last few years as a spectator, and there are times where even I haven’t been sure what’s been going on in the race.”
The problem comes from the evolving nature of Formula One. The patchwork system of rules leaves loopholes in some places and not enough explanation in others. The key to solving that, Brawn believes, would be to look forward and set a three-to-five year plan.
“F1 tends to be reactive,” he said. “It has a problem, it reacts and tries to find a solution, but very rarely has the vision of looking forward three-to-five years and deciding where it wants to be.”
Brawn also reiterated that the fans want “real racing” and, though Mercedes domination has eliminated almost all “real” racing at the front of the field, he doesn’t think the team is to blame for the sport’s lack of popularity.
“I think [the fans] want racing, and we haven’t seen too much of that. We’ve seen a great competition between two drivers in the same team for the last few years, and that’s no fault of Mercedes. They’ve done a fabulous job. I think the fans want racing, they want to understand what’s going on in the race.”
Liberty has already shown they’re aiming high with their take over, with the removal of Bernie Ecclestone and the attack on Ferrari’s “bonus”, but they’re yet to outline any clear plan for the future of F1.
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