Why Suzuki's Brivio replacement must come from within

Davide Brivio's departure from Suzuki leaves the Japanese factory with a huge dilemma: whether to find a new team boss from outside or hand the role to somebody who can maintain their current philosophy.

The Italian's bombshell move, which will see him being announced shortly as CEO of the Alpine Formula 1 team, is particularly surprising as it comes a matter of months after Suzuki celebrated its first MotoGP world championship title in 20 years, at the hands of Joan Mir.

However, every situation depends on how you look at it, and there can be no doubt that the Spanish rider emerged victorious from one of the strangest seasons in the history of the series. The format of the championship was changed completely due to the impact of coronavirus, with a calendar featuring just fourteen races taking place at only nine circuits.

If that wasn't enough, Marc Marquez - the world champion for six of the seven previous years - was injured so badly at round one that he has yet to properly return.

It is also without question that Mir's success was fully deserved, yet equally undoubtable is the fact that the exact same circumstances he triumphed in last year will not be repeated again. It wasn't just the absence of Marquez that opened the way for Mir, but also Yamaha's impotence, Ducati's inconsistency and KTM's lack of experience.

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Against this backdrop it becomes easier to understand why Brivio - the key driving force behind Suzuki's return to MotoGP in 2015, its progress since then and ultimately success - would have decided to accept such a huge challenge in such a hostile world as F1.

His stock could hardly be higher right now in MotoGP, where he would surely be welcomed back with open arms in the future after proving himself as one of the most astute operators in the paddock.

After all, it was Brivio who convinced Valentino Rossi to leave Honda and join him at Yamaha in 2004, who signed Jorge Lorenzo even before the young Spaniard won the 250cc title in 2006 and who then turned his expert touch to combine European and Japanese efficacy at Suzuki. For all of these reasons, the impact of his departure will be felt keenly back at the Hamamatsu factory, and the profile of his replacement is a difficult one to match.

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"Davide's departure has left a massive hole - we feel kind of orphaned," a source from Suzuki told Autosport. "It is important that people understand that it was him who built this project from zero - from buying the first trucks and then everything else after that.

"Luckily in most cases I have had quite a similar way of thinking to him, therefore it is not so difficult to keep the direction we should go" Shinichi Sahara

"This is a special group of people because Davide signed each and every one of us, not just for our professional experience but because of each person's character."

Now the factory chiefs must deal with an important quandary, which will define the medium and long-term future of the Suzuki project. The man in charge of finding Brivio's replacement, whether it be from within the team or an outside appointment, will be Project Leader Shinichi Sahara (below). The old saying of 'if it ain't broke, don't fix it' could well be applied here, should Suzuki wish to maintain the philosophy that has served it so well.

The foundation of its recent success was to back young riders, to take a step-by-step approach with bike development and to make constant evolution without huge risk, minimising the potential for error. According to Sahara's quote from the press release confirming Brivio's departure, it seems the most likely appointment will come from within.

"2021 will be an even more important year for us to keep the momentum," he said. "Now we are trying to find the best way to cover for the 'Davide loss'. Luckily in most cases I have had quite a similar way of thinking to him, therefore it is not so difficult to keep the direction we should go."

"People are a little wary now about whether somebody will come in from outside," continued Autosport's inside source. "I think the smartest move is to work it out between us and keep faith with the people who have got us this far."

To promote from within would go some way to reinforcing the confidence of the group at a delicate moment, when the departure of a uniting figure such as Brivio might easily disturb the balance. If one thing became clear last season it was that Suzuki, as well as having two top riders, is a cohesive team, without the divisions that exist in other garages. If the team boss during this period was already struggling to elicit the budget he needed to run the MotoGP operation, it will be an even more difficult task for whoever takes up the reins.

Another big job for the new boss will be the creation of a satellite team - a project that has been routinely delayed and has yet to be confirmed. And that's not to mention the riders, Joan Mir and Alex Rins, who have always shown their appreciation for the faith shown in them.

That the respect was always on show between the two riders on track - despite the fact they were both fighting for the title - is a reflection of the harmony that exists at Suzuki, which the new team manager will have to try and maintain at all costs.