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Brawn, Bratches take up new F1 roles

Ross Brawn has been appointed managing director of motor sports and former ESPN executive Sean Bratches has become managing director of commercial operations, it has been confirmed by new F1 Chairman and CEO Chase Carey.

The newly-formed roles come after the announcement that Bernie Ecclestone has been axed as F1 CEO and named as Chairman Emeritus to act as an advisor to the new board which has been confirmed after the completion of the $8 billion takeover deal by Liberty Media.

Brawn has had a role in securing 22 FIA world championships (11 with Ferrari and seven with Renault and Benetton), before going on to rescue and rebrand the former Honda team as Brawn GP and win the 2009 F1 world drivers' and constructors' titles.

The British engineer then sold the team to Mercedes in 2010 and guided the German manufacturer to three consecutive world titles between 2014 and 2016.

Brawn has acted as advisor to Liberty Media for the past 12 months since the beginning of its F1 takeover and is delighted to join the new-look senior management team in charge of the sporting aspects.

"It's fantastic to be returning to the world of Formula 1," Brawn said. "I've enjoyed consulting with Liberty Media these last few months and I'm looking forward to working with Chase, Sean and the rest of the Formula 1 Team to help the evolution of the sport.

"We have an almost unprecedented opportunity to work together with the teams and promoters for a better F1 for them and, most importantly, for the fans."

Bratches, who has over 27 years of commercial experience and was recently Executive Vice President of Sales and Marketing at ESPN, takes on the primary responsibilities formerly held by Ecclestone for over four decades and hopes to help F1 continue to grow as a global sport.

"I'm very excited to be joining Formula 1 and contribute to the continued growth of this extraordinary global brand and sport," Bratches said. "Formula 1 is one of few truly global tier one sports, and I am encouraged by the manifold opportunities to materially grow the business, work closely with current and future sponsors, race circuits, television rights holders as well as create next generation digital and on-site race experiences to best serve the Formula 1 fans."

"I look forward to working with Ross and Sean, as well as key current executives including Duncan Llowarch our CFO and Sacha Woodward Hill, our General Counsel, the FIA, Bernie and Liberty as we work together to make Formula 1 the best it can be for the teams, promoters and fans for years to come," new F1 Chairman and CEO Chase Carey concluded. 

Zdroj: crash.net