Brawn feels “shame” of F1’s performance gap

Formula 1 chief Ross Brawn says despite the fresh injection of racing action in Bahrain after a difficult 2018 opener in Australia he feels “watching two grands prix” is an ongoing problem he must fix with the huge performance gap between teams.

After the dramatic double DNF of both Red Bull cars in the opening laps of the Bahrain Grand Prix the battle for the win and podium spots was exclusively fought between Ferrari and Mercedes.

While less than seven seconds split the top three finishers a whopping one minute gap spit winner Sebastian Vettel from fourth place finisher Pierre Gasly for Toro Rosso Honda.

F1's managing director of motorsports Brawn underlined his frustration at the performance split between the top teams and the rest of the field and feels it is an issue which must be addressed for the health of the sport.

“It's a shame that we were pretty much watching two grands prix: one conducted in the absence of Red Bull was a battle between two teams, Ferrari and Mercedes, and then there was a race involving everybody else,” Brawn said. “Just six drivers completed the full 57 laps and the gap between third-placed Hamilton and fourth-placed Gasly there was a huge 55 seconds.

“However, the size of the performance gap is not surprising when you consider that out of last year's 60 podium places, just one went to a driver not driving a Ferrari, Mercedes or Red Bull – Lance Stroll, for Williams in Baku.

“It is further proof that we need to do something. It is one of the goals outlined in our vision for the Formula 1 of the future, which we presented to the teams and to the FIA last Friday in Bahrain. Along with the organising body, we want to work on achieving this to make this sport even more spectacular and appealing.”

Brawn was relieved to see the Bahrain race host plenty of on-track action and overtaking after the frustrations felt from Australia at Albert Park.

“The most exciting one came from Hamilton early on in his rise through the order,” he said. “When he dealt with Alonso, Hulkenberg and Ocon in one fell swoop in the braking area at Turn 1. There were plenty more to keep the fans in the grandstands and those watching on TV entertained.”