Tuesday October 8th, 2002

Ferrari's technical director Ross Brawn will miss the final race of the season in Japan due to continuing back problems.

The Briton had already missed the opening day of the Italian Grand Prix while recovering from a slipped disc, but the problems have continued to affect Brawn and so he will not be travelling to Suzuka next weekend.

The team said, however, that he will still be able to direct operations from his armchair through a satellite link from his home in England.

"Ferrari's communication team will install a link to the track and I will be able to have a direct link to the two drivers, two engineers and my deputy Luca Baldisseri who will be running things trackside," explained Brawn.

"There will be some things that I cannot monitor, but "virtual Ross" should have a similar grasp of the race as if I were there."

Published at 16:14:56 GMT