In the wake of Ferrari driver Sebastian Vettel’s race win at the 2019 F1 Singapore Grand Prix at the expense of his team-mate Charles Leclerc, F1 Managing Director, Motorsport, Ross Brawn, takes a look at the impact that the result has on Vettel and how it may lead to a more exciting 2020 season, as well as possible changes to the F1 grids in the future.

Having been through a difficult period in his career, Brawn says that the the unexpected win would definitely have been a weight off Vettel’s back, furthermore being on a track that was seen as being least suited to his car, demonstrating the progress that Ferrari have made with their car and the immediate effect of the upgrades that they brought to Singapore, a circuit where downforce is key.

An exciting 2020 F1 season awaits

With the strategic game that the top six teams played in Singapore which led to Ferrari’s first one-two finish of the season, it may be a bit late for the 2019 season, which Lewis Hamilton and Mercedes have virtually wrapped up, in terms of the drivers’ and the constructors’ championships. 

But according to Brawn, we may be in for a much more exciting 2020 season, with Red Bull in the mix as well, having finished third in the Singapore race.

Possible ideas and experiments may be implemented 

While there may be no major rule changes next year, Brawn adds that there are possible ideas and “experiments” in the works to make the F1 season more spectacular.

However he stresses that these are just experiments, that is, small samples to establish directions for the future of the sport.

These include the possibility of a revised format for a small number of events for next season. With stable sporting and technical regulations in place for the 2020 season, Brawn feels that it is a good time to make these evaluations.

Says Brawn, “We are all too aware that the current qualifying format is exciting and spectacular, but what is also important is to make sure that the race, the highlight of the weekend, is the best that it can be.”

He continued, “But no decision has been taken yet because we are finalising the details. I understand that the purists may be concerned but we should not be afraid to conduct experiments otherwise we cannot progress. We don’t want change for the sake of change. We want to improve our sport, because, rather like the development of the cars, if you stand still, you risk slipping backwards.”