IF you ask any Formula One expert what the biggest upset in the sport’s history is, the chances are they will say Brawn GP.
The constructor came into being after being brought out for just £1 in 2008 following Honda‘s withdrawal from F1 due to the global financial crisis.
Ross Brawn brought Brawn GP for just £1 before it was sold for £150mGetty Images – Getty
PA:Press AssociationBritish driver Jenson Button spearheaded to team to one of the biggest shocks in F1 history[/caption]
ReutersBrawn GP raced for just one season[/caption]
The man behind that single pound was Ross Brawn, who was previously the technical director for Ferrari and Benetton – overseeing Michael Schumacher to all seven of his F1 titles.
At the start of the 2009 season, Honda Racing F1 officially changed their name to Brawn GP.
The team’s driver lineup consisted of Jenson Button and Rubens Barrichello, backed up with Mercedes engine power in the BGP 001.
Given the tumultuous past of the team, no one imagined they would be able to go and challenge at the front of the field.
But not only did Brawn do that, they went on to win both the drivers and constructors’ F1 world championships.
Brawn won a staggering eight races from a possible 17 that season, with Button winning six of the first seven races.
Writing for Sky Sports in 2019, Button recalled the first race of the season in Melbourne, Australia, when he picked up a shock pole position before winning the race.
He said: “I still remember my qualifying lap in Melbourne, it’s crazy.
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“But that’s the one that probably stands out the most just because it was such a shock to the system to take this car that had tested at the Stowe circuit at Silverstone just a couple of weeks before – to Melbourne, the first GP of the year, and put it on pole position.
“I remember everything about that lap which I can’t say for many laps I’ve done. So it all ran really smoothly.
“The race start was great, the car pulled away well, which again was a surprise, and in terms of our tyre strategy that was fantastic as well, putting the tyres on at the right time.
“The team hadn’t lost it at all even though we’d had such a tough winter. We crossed that finish line first and second and it was a relief I think for everyone that we’d completed that first race.
“We were on the top step as a privateer, the first time that’s been done for decades in their first GP.”
However, from the British GP onwards, results started to turn against them as Red Bull caught up, threatening to undo the brilliant start to the season Brawn GP had made.
GettyButton won the F1 drivers championship in 2009 at the Brazil Grand Prix[/caption]
Fortunately for Brawn GP and Button, the Brazil GP – the penultimate race of the season – would see them lift both titles.
And with 2009 being the only season the team officially competed in, it makes them the only team in F1 history to have a 100 per cent championship success rate.
Following the season, engine supplier Mercedes purchased a 75.1 per cent stake in the team reportedly worth £110million.
Brawn kept a 25 per cent stake in the team in partnership with CEO Nick Fry before that was also sold off in 2011, giving the pair an estimated sale value of £150m.
He would stay on as team principal until 2013 when a certain Toto Wolff took over the reins.
Not a bad turnaround off a £1 investment.
The amazing story of that season is now being retold in Disney+ show, Brawn: The Impossible Formula 1 Story.
Actor Keanu Reeves narrates the show, featuring interviews with Brawn, Button, Red Bull chief Christian Horner, former Ferrari chairman Luca di Montezemolo and ex-F1 supremo Bernie Ecclestone.
The four-part series starts streaming on November 15.
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