Ferrari must avoid 'knee-jerk reactions' to Vettel's title loss

Liberty Media chief Ross Brawn believes that his former team, Ferrari, should avoid making quick, emotional decisions within the team following Sebastian Vettel's loss of the drivers' championship to Lewis Hamilton, saying the team needs to start afresh to get back to the top.

The Prancing Horse are 55 points behind Mercedes in the constructors' championship with two races remaining, while Hamilton won his fifth world title at the Mexican Grand Prix on Sunday.

Despite the disappointments of the season so far, Brawn has warned against any immediate changes.

"Ferrari and Vettel must start over from here, by understanding what went wrong and improving on it, without panic, and without knee-jerk reactions," the F1 boss said.

"In just two seasons, Ferrari has once more become a contender for titles, something that seemed difficult to imagine at the start of this hybrid era, given Mercedes undoubted power advantage. Now Ferrari has to move forward, without throwing any babies out with the bathwater.

"In the post-race conference, Vettel seemed dejected and I can understand that. When the goal you have been chasing all season is definitively put out of reach there's a lot to regret if one looks back on previous races, what might have been, and what could have been improved on.

"These are situations I know well. I've experienced them at first hand in the same team as the German."

Brawn went on to praise the campaign of Hamilton, and compared him to Michael Schumacher in that both drivers could win races when they perhaps weren't at their best on the day.

"To take the title with two races remaining is very impressive, with Lewis supported by an equally brilliant team." Brawn continued.

"If I had to choose one characteristic that makes Lewis special, it's his ability to win so many races in which he wasn't the favourite, as we saw several times this year -- in Hockenheim, Budapest and Monza to name but a few.

"Of course, he also won those in which he was deemed to be the man most likely to win.

"It's a characteristic he shares with the only driver to have won more titles than him -- Michael Schumacher. Lewis was already part of Formula One's history and now he is truly a legend of the sport. Well done indeed!"

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