F1's Legendary Team Boss Ross Brawn Has Joined Yamaha's MotoGP Team

MotoGP's paddock is becoming more and more a trove of former Formula 1 personnel, as the legendary team boss, Ross Brawn, has just taken a job as advisor to Pramac Yamaha.

Photo by: Formula 1

By: Jonathon Klein

May 27, at 10:42am ET

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The hottest ticket in town is MotoGP, apparently. But only if you were once associated with Formula 1. And, yes, many people have taken issue with Formula 1's people migrating over to the pinnacle of two-wheel racing, as there are those who want everything to just stay as it always was. But in a world of synergies and other boardroom nonsense words, there's going to be more overlap.

The latest in the ever-growing list of former and current F1 folks to make the switch, however, is a vastly interesting one, especially for the team involved. Does the name Ross Brawn sound familiar?

Now, if you're like me who's been following both sports since an early age, you likely know Brawn's name. The former technical director/team principal is credited as the reason why Benetton and Ferrari were so successful in the 1990s and early 2000s. And he's also the reason why you know the name Michael Schumacher.

So Brawn joining Pramac Yamaha, which hasn't been doing all that hot as of late, as an advisor, could be exactly the juice the team needs to get back on its feet.

According to the press release, "Pramac Racing Limited has announced that Ross Brawn has joined its Board of Directors. In this role, he will act as strategic advisor to Team Principal Paolo Campinoti, bringing extensive experience from the highest levels of motorsport. Brawn‘s Motorsport career spans more than four decades, during which he won a total of 22 world titles — 11 Constructors’ and 11 Drivers’ Championships."

Now, his role is an interesting one, as it's not a direct advisory role per se. As you can read in the release, Brawn will be an advisor to current team principal Paolo Campinoti, basically acting as Valentino Rossi does for VR46's Pablo Nieto or Nikki Lauda did for Toto Wolff. There isn't a direct, hands-on role here, just a Jimny Cricket voice in Campinoti's ear. But you don't exactly squander the knowledge and experience of a Ross Brawn type, let alone the actual Ross Brawn, in such a possibly do-nothing role.

So I suspect Brawn will be used more than the release leads on.

"I’m delighted to join the board of Pramac Racing Limited in a non-executive role," said Brawn, adding, "Motorsport has always been about people, teamwork and continuous improvement and I look forward to supporting Paolo and the team and contributing where my experience may be useful. Pramac has built an impressive organisation with a strong spirit and ambition and I‘m excited to be part of its future."

What do you think?

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Pramac has been on its back foot lately, as Yamaha as a whole was the last holdout for the V4 architecture in the sport, and Pramac has suffered on track in recent years due to that and other issues. Currently, the team's riders are 17th and 20th in the championship. By comparison, Fabio Quatararo, who also uses a Yamaha, is sitting in 9th, though his teammate Alex Rins is splitting the Pramac squad in 19th. Suffice it to say, those aren't ideal stats, which makes Brawn's addition make more sense.

We'll have to wait and see whether Brawn's ability to turn around struggling teams can translate to MotoGP, but I'm hopeful.