Ross Brawn did not travel to Barcelona, with Nick Fry becoming more vocal in his absence © Sutton Images
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Ross Brawn has explained that he took the Spanish Grand Prix weekend off after staying overnight in hospital having felt unwell.

Brawn was absent in Barcelona, with the Mercedes CEO Nick Fry taking a more visible role as the spokesman for the team since. Ahead of his return to the paddock for the Monaco Grand Prix, Brawn has explained the events that led to him missing the last race.

"On the Tuesday before Barcelona I felt unwell so I went to the doctor and then stayed a night in hospital for some tests," Brawn told Bild. "When I got home, I decided on the advice of doctors to give myself a weekend off, to be sure that I am fit for Monaco."

Michael Schumacher crashed out in Spain, and since then Fry has said that he would not be surprised if Schumacher decided not to extend his contract at the end of the season. On the back of those comments, Brawn has moved to defend Schumacher, saying he has been let down by the team.

"A lot has been said and written, but we should not forget that we - the team - have let him down in three of the fives races, not delivering the job we should have. We must do better. We saw Michael's real quality again in the first race, so it's for that reason that I believe we will see him on the podium this year."

Brawn added that he expected any potential talks with Schumacher about his future would be simple.

"When the time comes, we will sit down together and talk about the future. I'm sure it will become clear very quickly in what direction we will go."

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