Brawn: Ferrari will err on side of caution

Although the Englishman said that the Maranello-based squad is pressing ahead as strongly as ever in some departments, in others it has backed off - especially in the interests of reliability.

"It depends what it is," he told Autosport.com. "From an aerodynamics point of view, which is not a reliability consideration, then there's still a lot of work being done. But in terms of a new engine spec, then perhaps we are going to do a bit more testing before we introduce it, because there's no need to take that risk.

"The engine reliability has been fantastic. There are decisions to consider that are a little bit different to other circumstances. But we still want to win more races. I wouldn't call it relaxing!"

Brawn admits that McLaren has recovered from its recent trough of form, which he believes was sparked by small problems that escalated into retirements.

"They've been performing well for several races, it's just that they've not put the whole thing together," said Brawn. "They've had little problems, problems on the grid, David exceeded the speed limit at the last race... You only need one little glitch, and your race is finished."

Brawn says he is unperturbed by the form of Williams-BMW, and believes his cars can fend off their challenge at Hockenheim in a fortnight's time.

"If Williams are strong again, looking at the championship it's not such a big deal," he said. "We've got a new aero package there, and I think we'll be competitive there. So I'm quite looking forward to it."

For full Ross Brawn Q&A click here.