Ross Brawn

Ross Brawn OBE
Brawn at the 2016 Goodwood Festival of Speed
Born	Ross James Brawn (1954-11-23) 23 November 1954 (age 62) Ashton-under-Lyne, Lancashire, England
Nationality	British
Occupation	Formula One Managing Director, Motor Sports (2017–present) Formula One team technical director/team principal (1991–2006, 2008–2013)
Net worth	£100 million
Partner(s)	Jean Brawn

Ross James Brawn OBE (born 23 November 1954) is the Formula One Managing Director of Motorsports.

He is also a former motorsport engineer and Formula One team principal. He had worked for a number of Formula One teams, serving as the technical director of the championship-winning Benetton and Ferrari teams. He took a sabbatical from the sport in 2007 but returned to F1 for the 2008 season as Team Principal of Honda. He was the owner of the Brawn GP team, which acquired the Honda team in early 2009, and won the Formula One Constructors and Drivers Championships in that year. Mercedes bought into the team in November 2009, making Brawn Team Principal and Co-Owner with Nick Fry. In 2011 Brawn and Fry sold the remaining shares to Mercedes Benz, with Brawn remaining as Team Principal. In November 2013, it was announced that Brawn would step down, and the reins would be handed over to a management team consisting of Paddy Lowe and Toto Wolff. Following speculation linking him with other teams, Brawn announced his retirement from Formula One in February 2014. Teams with Brawn in an essential role have won, in total, 8 constructors' championships and 8 drivers' championships.

Brawn was born in Ashton-under-Lyne, Lancashire, England. He became interested in engineering during his early years, often visiting Belle Vue Stadium to watch various forms of motor racing. He moved south aged 11 as his father took a job near Reading, Berkshire and he subsequently attended Reading School in the town.

In 1971 he was taken on as a mechanical craft apprentice by the United Kingdom Atomic Energy Authority at its Atomic Energy Research Establishment in Harwell, Oxfordshire, where he qualified as an instrument mechanic. He went on to start an HNC in Mechanical Engineering, still funded by Harwell. Living in Reading he found an advertisement for Frank Williams Grand Prix, which were based in Reading at that time, he was interviewed by Patrick Head. Williams were looking for a milling machinist which was one of the skills he learnt at Harwell.