Stefan Bradl says one ‘next level’ MotoGP team boss reminds of him Ferrari legend Ross Brawn

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Ross Brawn is one of the most iconic figures in motorsport. Between 1997 and 2006, he was the technical director at the Ferrari Formula 1 team.

Brawn accompanied Michael Schumacher to Maranello after helping him win his first two world championships at Bennetton. Between 2000 and 2004, Schumacher won five straight titles – the longest run in the sport’s history.

No rider has achieved this feat in the MotoGP era. Marc Marquez came closest, stringing together four in a row at Honda between 2016 and 2019.

Previously, Giacomo Agostini won seven of his eight premier-class titles in a row. And Mick Doohan also clinched five on the bounce between 1994 and ’98.

After a later stint at Mercedes (successors of his eponymous title-winning team), Brawn moved into an F1 management role at Liberty Media. The US corporation are now trying to buy MotoGP’s commercial rights from Dorna.

Stefan Bradl likens Ross Brawn to Ducati chief Luigi Dall’Igna

Luigi Dall’Igna is perhaps the most Brawn-like figure in MotoGP. He combines engineering genius with the skills required to run a team.

Indeed, Dall’Igna has previously been compared to Adrian Newey, one of Brawn’s great rivals. Former Honda rider Stefan Bradl says Ducati are now emulating Ferrari at the turn of the century.

Marquez and Dall’Igna already look like a ‘brilliant duo’, with the Spaniard maintaining a 100% record across the first two qualifying sessions, Sprints and Grands Prix of the season. Bradl raced alongside him as a Honda wildcard in 2019 and then replaced him in 2020 due to injury.

“I do believe that Gigi is a fan of Marc’s and that the crew chief and the rider speak a common language,” Bradl said, as quoted by GPOne. “They’re a brilliant duo that has taken themselves to the next level through this close collaboration.

“It’s a combination like the one that used to exist at Ferrari between Michael Schumacher and Ross Brawn or Jean Todt.”

Luigi Dall’Igna has already changed his mind about Francesco Bagnaia at Ducati

If he’s not careful, Francesco Bagnaia, Ducati’s other rider, could find himself playing the Rubens Barrichello role. Barrichello was Schumacher’s teammate for each of his five championship-winning seasons at Ferrari.

Ducati are unlikely to impose the kind of hierarchy that existed at Maranello. But Bagnaia could also find himself in the shadow of his teammate.

After the opening round of the season in Thailand, Dall’Igna told Bagnaia to ‘remember last year’. He regarded his third-place as effective damage limitation, something that was missing too often in his 2024 title battle with Jorge Martin.

But Dall’Igna took a different tone with Bagnaia after round two in Argentina, when the Italian slipped to fourth. He told the two-time world champion that he simply must aim for better, a clear change of managerial tack.