Ross Brawn is set to either retire as Ferrari’s Technical Director at the end of the season or begin a one-year ’sabbatical’, according to press reports in Italy and Britain. The Guardian in England claims that the 51-year-old’s departure will be permanent; a prospect that will further stir speculation that the current Ferrari era is drawing to a close with the possibly concurrent withdrawals of Michael Schumacher and Jean Todt.

Schumacher and Brawn first united at Benetton in 1991, while Frenchman Todt is a personal friend of the 37-year-old Ferrari driver and is almost certain to simultaneously end his career.

A spokesman dismissed the stories as speculation, insisting: “We will be announcing our driver line-up at the Italian Grand Prix next month and confirming details of our team structure at the end of the year.”

The speculation, however, was also featured by specialist publications Autosport, in Britain, and Italy’s La Gazzetta dello Sport, which is well-versed on all topics Ferrari and closely linked to the Maranello team. La Gazzetta also reported on Wednesday that Schumacher is certain to retire at the end of the 2007 season.

[GMM]

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