Ferrari hope to be Brawn's first choice

As autosport.com revealed last weekend, Honda Racing boss Nick Fry has opened talks with Brawn in a bid to convince him to join the Japanese outfit next year.

Brawn is currently on a sabbatical, and his former team Ferrari have said that they hope he speaks to them about his future options before committing himself.

"Ross is obviously a free agent, but we would like to think there is a gentlemen's agreement that he will talk to us before deciding on his future plans," Ferrari spokesman Luca Colajanni told the Guardian newspaper.

Brawn made it clear earlier this year in an interview with Auto Motor und Sport that he would likely talk to Ferrari first if he wanted a return to F1.

"Ferrari gave me so much that it is only fair I speak with them first," said Brawn, who made it clear that he would not return to the team in his former technical director role. "If I return, I need a new challenge."

It has long been thought that Brawn would only return to Ferrari if he was offered the team principal's job, replacing Jean Todt who was promoted to CEO of the Ferrari company last winter.