Brawn defends Formula One's fastest driver list

FILE PHOTO: Formula One - F1 - Chinese Grand Prix - Shanghai, China - 6/4/17 - Formula One Managing Director of Motorsports Ross Brawn walks at the Shanghai International Circuit ahead of the Chinese F1 Grand Prix. REUTERS/Aly Song

LONDON (Reuters) - Formula One managing director Ross Brawn has defended a controversial algorithm-based fastest driver ranking as a fascinating exercise that stands up to scrutiny, despite some social media scorn.

The sport published a top 20 on Tuesday using machine learning technology from Formula One's official partner Amazon Web Services (AWS) and analysing 40 years' worth of data.