Ross Brawn sees signs that the 2021 Formula 1 season will be full of excitement after the second day of pre-season testing was completed on Saturday. The former F1 team boss enjoyed the return of Fernando Alonso at Alpine and was glad to see Red Bull showing strong pace in Bahrain. Red Bull go into the new campaign looking to challenge Mercedes throughout the 23 Grand Prix, having won just two races in 2020. “It certainly looks to be an exciting season with new drivers and new teams," Brawn told F1 TV. "Fernando [Alonso] was doing quite well in the morning which was nice to see. McLaren look good and Mercedes seem to be having a challenge time but I’m sure they will sort themselves out. “I think it will be quite an exciting year. Red Bull look to be in good shape and certainly this time last year they looked to be struggling. “If they can start the year how they ended it last year, we have a lot to look forward to. The sport will undergo a regulation overhaul for 2022 in an attempt to close the field up and create better racing. Brawn says the teams will already have one eye on next year's cars. "The teams have probably started working on cars already," added Brawn. "Because of covid we kept a lot of parts from last year to this year so the majority of teams have not had to do a full redesign. "They will have already started to get into the 2022 car and there will be a cut-off point for most of them mid-season when they just devote everything to the new car. Formula 1 managed to fit 17 races in the space of five months last season despite the ongoing coronavirus pandemic. Brawn is optimistic that things will get back to normal soon and is proud of the sport's efforts in the last 12 months. “I think what we were able to demonstrate last year is we can manage a situation," said Brawn. "We’ve convinced ourselves we can manage things safely and that was critical for us to carry on. “We are pretty optimistic for a full season this year. "There could be some twists and turns but we’ve been through the worst in my opinion and it’s all uphill from here.”
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