Ross Brawn announces retirement from Formula One to end speculation linking him with McLaren
Brawn, 59, has been heavily linked with a move to McLaren following the return of Ron Dennis to the team, but in a shock announcement to a fishing event in Aberdeenshire, he said he would not be returning to the sport.
"What they didn't realize when I was invited here was they had a scoop because the world's press was trying to find out if I was retiring or not," Brawn said.
"This is the busiest time of the year for Formula One and I said I would come along and open the River Dee.
"If they had put two and two together they would have realized I was definitely retiring."
Brawn, the mastermind of Michael Schumacher’s titles with Benetton and Ferrari, as well as Jenson Button’s championship triumph with Brawn GP in 2009, left Mercedes at the end of last season for a sabbatical to spend more time fishing.
Just a few days ago as he was inducted into Motor Sport magazine’s hall of fame, Brawn said he would “never say never" to a return to the paddock, but away from the glare of Formula One, which has been in Jerez for pre-season testing this week, he confirmed his sabbatical would be permanent.
"I'm retiring – it's not tongue in cheek," Brawn said.
"I'm going to take a year to enjoy the fishing and then see what life brings. I'm looking forward to it but I've got no other plans.
"It's a fantastic honor to do the ceremonial opening of the River Dee. It's a river I've never had a chance to fish before because it is predominantly known as a spring river and in the spring I'm normally trying to sort out a Formula One car in Spain.
"So February, March and April are never good months for me to go fishing – but this year is different having stopped." The Telegraph