Brawn: I wish Toto would've taken a bigger view

Put to F1's teams last week as a way to differentiate the second race in the back-to-backs scheduled for Austria and Silverstone this season, the Silver Arrows were the only team to object to the idea of deciding Sunday's grid with a Saturday race run in reverse-championship order.

As Brawn explains it, Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff was not willing to give up his competitive advantage.

"We thought that this coming season with the necessity to have some of the grands prix as second weekends at the same track it would be a perfect idea for the second race," he told Autosport. "So in Austria, Silverstone, and if there are any in the second half of the season, then we could do the same.

"But we couldn't because of Mercedes. Toto was quite frank in the meeting. 'We're in what we think is the best competitive position, we're chasing a seventh world championship, why would I give up that opportunity I have? Because this proposal will put me in a far more difficult position.'

"I understood that and respected it. I wish that he would have taken a bigger view, but he didn't. I think all the stuff that came out afterwards was just fog."

Instead, Brawn is now considering changing the tyre compounds for the second race, going a step harder or softer for the three (out of five) chosen by Pirelli for the first race.

"There are two elements to the second weekend. There's making sure people run all weekend, as we don't want a very quiet Friday because they've got all the data they need.

"And the other aspect is, is there something we can do that will engage fans a little bit more at the second race because of a change? Something which the teams won't see as upsetting their competitive status within F1.

"It will be very small if it is, it will be something like tyre compounds or something of that sort, we'll see whether there's any scope to do something with it. If they have a different range of compounds available, they'll do some work."

However, Brawn admits the idea remains a ways away from becoming a reality.

"We're kicking it around at the moment," he said. "It's possible there will be nothing, but if we can do something just to liven up that second race, it will be a good thing."