Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/753405
maltatoday, SUNDAY, 20 NOVEMBER 2016 53 Sport FORMULA 1 Dwarna with Mariella Dimech every Tuesday at 21.00 on TVM2 Brawn fears further dominance in 2017 ROSS Brawn reckons one team could dominate Formula 1 un- der 2017's regulations in the same way that Mercedes has re- cently ruled the sport. Mercedes has won 50 of 58 rac- es since the turbo V6 era began in 2014, with Red Bull (five wins) and Ferrari (three wins) the only other teams to triumph. Brawn, who laid the ground- work for Mercedes' success as its team boss, feels it is possi- ble that one team could steal a march on their rivals again next season. "I think the reality is, the long- er you leave the regulations the same, generally the closer the teams get, and you are starting to see that now," he told ESPN. "Mercedes is still winning, but people are starting to nip at their heels, and more time with the same regulations would make that even closer, I'm sure. "When new regulations come, someone gets on top of them quicker than the rest, and that was always what I tried to do, but that slope that comes f lat- tens off. "But what you may well see next year is somebody who takes an interpretation of the regula- tions that gets ahead of the game and has a big advantage." Red Bull has been tipped to shine next year, given its aerody- namic prowess, but Brawn reck- ons Mercedes is also capable of finding 2017's winning formula. "Don't underestimate Mer- cedes," he went on to comment. "There are four teams with Mercedes engines (also Wil- liams, Force India and Manor) and only one that is winning, and there is a reason for that: it's a good team and a good car. "But Red Bull would have been one of the main protagonists be- hind this rule change, which is why I say that the political ele- ment is always there in Formula 1." New F1 owner eyes Las Vegas night race FORMULA 1's new owner, Liberty Media, has reiterated its intention to expand the Grand Prix calendar in future seasons, with a Las Vegas night race emerging as a target. Liberty, due to complete its takeover in early 2017, had already listed 'evolving the calendar' as one of five select opportunities to consider in a detailed purchase presentation. Chase Carey, the sport's new Chairman, is keen to race in cit- ies such as Los Angeles, New York and Miami, and Greg Maffei, Lib- erty's CEO, has added Las Vegas to the list. "I particularly like the idea of a night race in Las Vegas," Maffei is quoted by Reuters. Formula 1 teams have repeat- edly expressed that the current 21-round calendar is pushing their resources to the limit, but Maffei reckons more races could be ben- eficial. "Obviously there is a limit on how much you can do, just getting the cars around the world, but I think we can expect to grow the amount of races to a mild degree," he added. "There is a general line of inter- est if you increase the number of races to a point. The FIA makes more money, the teams make more money, we make more money."