Formula 1 boss Ross Brawn says the 2021 title fight is delivering what has been missing from previous seasons, with Mercedes and Red Bull going head-to-head for both World Championships. Mercedes dominated the sport from 2014 to 2020, racking up seven successive Drivers' and Constructors' titles, but Honda-powered Red Bull emerged as a genuine championship contender this season. After 20 Grands Prix full of drama on and off the track, Max Verstappen leads Lewis Hamilton by eight points, while Mercedes hold a five-point advantage over Red Bull.
Brawn hails "brilliant dynamic" between title rivals
Ahead of the final two rounds of the season in Saudi Arabia and Abu Dhabi, Brawn took a moment to reflect on the season so far. "I think there has been a dearth of really intense competition at the top," Brawn told the In The Fast Lane podcast, referencing Mercedes' recent dominance. "Even when you have a competition between two drivers in the same team, it's not the same. "I mean, we've got this brilliant dynamic between Toto Wolff and Christian Horner, and that's a great ingredient in the battle. "When you've got two drivers in the same team, there's a sort of different political landscape to that, and it's definitely not as entertaining as what we have now."
"One of the best championships I've seen"
Brawn added that the championship's unpredictable nature - with Mercedes and Red Bull closely matched all year - has made it "one of the best" he's ever witnessed. "You're getting the variances in the cars and the team performance that's influencing things," he went on to comment. "We came back from Mexico expecting a very strong performance [from Red Bull] and Mercedes turned it around and dominated. So the team and the car, when you've got two different teams, is yo-yoing. "This is definitely one of the best championships I've seen. The fact that we're getting this ebb and flow, I've got no idea who's going to win the championship - and that's fantastic. "As Formula 1, we just want the battle to go to the wire."
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