Ross Brawn on returning to F1, Bernie Ecclestone, signing Lewis Hamilton and leaving Mercedes

Ross Brawn has told Sky Sports he would be prepared to work alongside Bernie Ecclestone as a new boss of Formula 1.

Brawn, the mastermind behind Mercedes' current domination of the sport and a key figure in Michael Schumacher's record-breaking success, has been in talks with Liberty Media as the group prepare to complete their takeover of F1.

Although Brawn has insisted reports he has agreed to become the sport's new chief executive are wide of the mark, he has admitted to Sky Sports he "would get pleasure from trying to help Formula 1 move forward" and revealed he is open to filling a role alongside Ecclestone, F1's current supremo.

Brawn's interview with Natalie Pinkham can be seen in a special edition of The F1 Report, published at the top of the page.

Asked directly whether he could return to F1 in a 'dream team' partnership alongside marketing guru Zak Brown, Brawn acknowledged: "I would be interested in such a role but there are so many things that need to be resolved first.

"The one thing that Bernie is not is immortal, none of us are, and at some point he has to put his pen down. He's a very special person, he's created most of what we are dealing with today, and there will never be a replacement for Bernie. Actually working for Bernie may be a fun and interesting thing to do."

During the interview, Brawn also discusses how he lured Lewis Hamilton from McLaren to Mercedes, his own exit from the Silver Arrows just months before the dawn of the hybrid era they have dominated, and his relationship with Michael Schumacher.

On working with Schumi
Brawn worked with Schumacher during each of the German's seven F1 world championships but says their partnership wasn't always plain sailing.

"He was the most complete driver of that era. He had fabulous talent but he also had the application, the intelligence and the devotion - and a love of driving. Michael is a very honest person, he doesn't like fun and games - and I'm the same. So even if we disagreed, we would thrash it out and sort it out. We were close and still are close..."

On signing Hamilton
In 2012, Brawn pulled off one of the most unexpected transfer coups in F1 history when he persuaded Lewis Hamilton to leave superpowers McLaren for a Mercedes outfit which had won just one race in the previous three years.

"We built it slowly with Lewis, explained our plans and explained what we were doing. There was an important meeting at his mum's house which was a lot of fun. And it grew: Lewis started to understand what we wanted to achieve and why we hadn't achieved the results we wanted to and how critical being an engine supplier was going to be with the new regulations. And then we had the inevitable complication on the commercial side of finding a package Mercedes could afford and what Lewis felt was justified from his side..."

On why he left Mercedes
Brawn left Mercedes at the end of 2013, a decision which was linked to the recruitment, without his knowledge, of Paddy Lowe.

"I had my frustrations but l also had relief because what had evolved wasn't something l was comfortable with. Writing the book was therapeutic. I had many difficult decisions in my career and l tried to face them head-on. Finding out from McLaren what had happened [Lowe agreeing to join Mercedes] when they rang up and said 'hey, you're nicking our guy' was a bit brutal..."

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