Will Button Finally Amount to Something?

[Otto Puzzell]

Ross Brawn signed by Honda

Honda will unveil the former Ferrari technical director, Ross Brawn, as team principal of their Formula One team today. The spectacular coup will see Nick Fry, who nominally held the role, continue in the post of chief executive.
   
The move will ease the concerns of Jenson Button, who claimed he would be considering his options next season unless Honda improved. Brawn's appointment is seen by Fry and Honda as a critical step towards securing the world championship for the first time as a constructor, as opposed to engine supplier, a role in which Honda previously enjoyed great success.

Brawn, who masterminded the career of Michael Schumacher at Benetton and even more successfully at Ferrari, was first approached by Fry in April, but was unable to respond out of respect for his former employers in Italy, who had first call on his services.

Talks with Ferrari about a return to Maranello after a sabbatical year reached an advanced stage during the summer but ultimately broke down in October. Fry's relentless pursuit throughout the summer eventually paid off when Brawn, who also attracted strong interest from Red Bull and Toyota, immediately confirmed his availability. The pair travelled to Japan earlier this month for talks with the Honda hierarchy in Tokyo. It is believed the deal was finally signed off in Japan last week.

Though Fry made no secret of his admiration of Brawn or of his desire to employ him, the move to conclude an agreement was kept a tight secret at the team. The drivers had no idea that Brawn would be on the staff until informed last Friday. His signature will be music to the ears of Button, who has seen his championship ambitions dwindle since the high of 2004 when he finished third in the championship in the colours of Honda-backed BAR, the highest non-Ferrari driver with 10 podium finishes.

Fry had gone out of his way to reassure Button that he would do everything in his power to deliver a world title for the 27-year-old Briton. The signing of Brawn is the strongest evidence yet that he intends to honour that pledge. Brawn brings with him immense stature and expertise from his 10 years at Ferrari, during which the Scuderia won an unprecedented six consecutive constructors' championships and five drivers' titles with Schumacher at the wheel.

Had Ferrari been able to offer Brawn the role of team principal he would probably have remained in Italy. Fry will have had no hesitation in stepping aside as he can now use his expertise to develop business and marketing strategies, including taking Honda's environmental marketing concept to the next level, while managing the relationship with the board in Japan.

Brawn has free reign over the whole engineering enterprise and on-track grand prix activity. At Honda he will have at his disposal engineering resources the equal of Ferrari fired by a burning desire to win. His appointment represents a shift in thinking for which Fry must take much of the credit. The team have floundered not for want of effort or cash but because of a lack of expertise in winning races. A management culture unsuited to Formula One, which requires decisions to be taken quickly by one man, not by committee, failed to deliver.

Honda experienced their most disappointing year on the track in 2007 since stepping on to the grid as a constructor. The replacement of ex-technical director Geoff Willis by Shuhei Nakamoto, an engineer with a motorcycle pedigree, contributed to last season's disappointments.

Brawn was not the only decorated engineering guru sought by Fry but he was always his primary target. The moment he was alerted to his availability Fry swooped. Suddenly the 'earth car' is looking a serious proposition. Wisely, no target for world domination has been set.

Brawn will start work immediately on knocking Honda into a bonfire grand prix team. Engineering integrity is not in doubt. Bringing it to bear in a grand prix setting as a constructor is Brawn's goal. His track record suggests he will not disappoint.

www.telegraph.co.uk/garside

[Ultra]

Yes.

[Otto Puzzell]

You are a seer.

[MG]

One has to admire a man with that kind of vision!