Brawn: Abu Dhabi emphasised the need for change in F1

Ross Brawn reckons the opening half of the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix on Sunday further emphasised the need to make changes to certain aspects of the sport, in particular to allow closer driving and easier overtaking.

During the first 20 laps of the race at Yas Marina, DRS was not available due to a technical fault, meaning that drivers found it more difficult than usual to approach the car in front for overtaking opportunities.

Part of the revamped rules for 2021 will see cars able to ride much closer together, and Brawn thinks this would have helped on Sunday.

“This year saw the arrival of the framework for the new rules that will come into force in 2021. That was the result of a process that involved the FIA and the teams, with the one true aim of making this sport ever more enjoyable for the fans,” he wrote in his post-race column.

"We are particularly pleased with the largely positive response to the new rules, especially from the fans.

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“In Sunday’s race, no DRS was available for almost 20 laps because of a technical problem and that only served to emphasise the need for the cars to be able to fight at close quarters. In addition, the performance gap between the teams needs to be reduced, because looking at Sunday’s race, once again only the top teams completed the full race distance, every other team was lapped.”

Brawn believes that, after painstaking deliberations between the FIA, F1, and the teams over the course of most of the year, the sport is finally progressing with everyone on board.

“These goals are shared at every level by the stakeholders in the sport, especially the fans. An important step has been taken, but there is more to come and we are definitely moving in the right direction,” he added.

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