Brawn: Naughty boys from Brazil need to own up
FORMER Ferrari chief Ross Brawn has called on one of the team’s warring drivers to follow Lewis Hamilton’s example and accept blame for their collision in Brazil.
Sebastian Vettel and Charles Leclerc have been hauled to Ferrari’s Maranello HQ this week after they crashing out with five laps remaining at Interlagos.
While Hamilton admitted he was at fault for his late collision with Red Bull driver Alex Albon – a coming together which saw the Briton demoted from third to seventh – there has been no such self-awareness within the Italian team.
in the cold light of day it’d be good if one of the drivers admits culpability
‘In the cold light of day, it would be good if one of the Ferrari drivers follow Hamilton’s example and admit culpability, as the champion did regarding his clash with Albon,’ said Brawn, who is now the head of motorsport for Formula One.
‘If Ferrari really wants to put an end to Mercedes’ dominance, not only does it need to provide its drivers with a more competitive car next year, it must also ensure incidents like this are not repeated.’
While world champion Hamilton was penalised by the stewards for a crash that denied Albon a first career podium, no action was taken against the Ferrari duo – who were battling for fourth place in Sunday’s race – despite Vettel appearing to be more at fault. Team principal Mattia Binotto, who will speak to both Vettel and Leclerc this week, might be forced to revise the team’s rules of engagement, forbidding the pair from fighting on track.
Brawn, who played such a pivotal role in Michael Schumacher’s five consecutive world championships during nine years at the Scuderia, added: ‘Mattia faces the tough task of getting things back on track. He has to get stuck in and tell the drivers to face up to their responsibilities, which in Maranello means putting the interests of the team ahead of those of the individual.
‘It’s never nice when team-mates knock one another out of a race, even more so when it’s not even a particularly important result that goes begging.’