Brawn GP
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|
Brackley, Northamptonshire, England | |
Founder(s) | Ross Brawn |
---|---|
Noted staff | Ross Brawn Nick Fry Loïc Bigois Jörg Zander Ron Meadows Andrew Shovlin Jock Clear Matt Deane |
Noted drivers | Jenson Button Rubens Barrichello |
Previous name | Honda Racing F1 Team |
Next name | Mercedes-AMG Petronas Formula One Team |
Formula One World Championship career | |
First entry | 2009 Australian Grand Prix |
Races entered | 17 |
Engines | Mercedes |
Constructors' Championships | 1 (2009) |
Drivers' Championships | 1 (2009) |
Race victories | 8 |
Podiums | 15 |
Points | 172 |
Pole positions | 5 |
Fastest laps | 4 |
Final entry | 2009 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix |
Brawn GP was a
On its racing debut, the season-opening
On 16 November 2009, it was confirmed that the team's engine supplier,
History
Origins
Brawn GP had its origins in the
On 17 March 2009, the
Honda had finished the
2009 race season
The team started off strongly on the Friday practice of the
Button won again at the Bahrain Grand Prix from fourth on the grid with Barrichello in fifth from sixth. Button ran most of the race in clean air and maintained the lead after the Toyotas pitted and fell down the order. This was the first time they were slower, with the fuel corrected qualifying times, in the season and was blamed on the lack of development on the car.[22] At the Spanish Grand Prix, Brawn achieved their second 1–2 of the season, with Button leading home Barrichello again. Brawn's fourth win saw them overtake Honda on the all-time wins list.[23]
At the Monaco Grand Prix, the same qualifying results as in Spain were achieved with Button on pole. Button led Barrichello, who had overtaken Kimi Räikkönen off the line, into the first corner with Button leading Barrichello, Räikkönen, and Felipe Massa for the majority of the race. Button took Brawn's third 1–2 and his first hat trick of wins.[24] At the Turkish Grand Prix, the Brawns were beaten to pole by Vettel after struggling with pace throughout Friday and Saturday, for Button especially. At the start, Barrichello's anti-stall cut in and he fell to the back of the grid; Button meanwhile, after pointing the car at Vettel, got off cleanly and inherited the lead at turn 10 when Vettel ran wide. Button led the race calmly for the rest of the race, with his teammate having many incidents before giving Brawn their first retirement after losing seventh gear.[25]
At the British Grand Prix, both drivers struggled in the team's home race. The car could not heat up the tyres enough and both drivers struggled with balance issues. Button had his worst qualifying of the season in sixth, with Barrichello achieving second. In the race, neither of the drivers shone and both had rather quiet races to third and sixth with Button having a late surge.[26] At the German Grand Prix, the team suffered the same fate as in Britain as both drivers suffered with tyre temperatures.[27] The team qualified light as to get onto the front row and qualified behind Webber in second and third, respectively.[28] Despite leading in the first stint, Barrichello finished sixth after a faulty fuel rig ruined his race. Button ran in the low points after getting stuck behind Heikki Kovalainen and managed to overtake Barrichello to finish fifth after the team inverted their pit-stop laps to lessen his disadvantage to contenders Webber and Vettel, who finished first and second, respectively.[29]
At the Hungarian Grand Prix, Brawn suffered the same uncompetitiveness after experiencing their worst qualifying of the season, with Button in eighth and Barrichello in thirteenth. The reason for Barrichello's underperformance was caused by his rear suspension failing, which resulted in a spring falling off and subsequently striking Ferrari's Felipe Massa on the helmet, resulting in serious head injuries. Button too was affected by this as his car spent most of Q3 being checked to make sure the same components would not fail and ended up qualifying with much more fuel than planned. In the race, neither driver showed much pace until the temperature hit 40 °C, and Button was the fastest man on the track at that point. Button managed to repass Jarno Trulli through the final pit stops and finished seventh, with his teammate in tenth, closely behind Kazuki Nakajima and Trulli.[30]
At the European Grand Prix, Barrichello won for the first time in five years, one of the longest gaps between Grand Prix victories in Formula One history. Barrichello started third on the grid, behind the rejuvenated McLaren-Mercedes cars of Lewis Hamilton and Kovalainen. While Barrichello thrived, Button started fifth on the grid and finished the race in seventh after the retirement of Vettel from fourth. At the Belgian Grand Prix, Button again had a dismal showing and was taken out by Romain Grosjean on the first lap. Barrichello started fourth but again had a clutch issue at the start; he managed to work his way up to seventh, his car's engine bursting into flames as he entered the pits.[3] At the Italian Grand Prix, the Brawns were fuelled heavily and started fifth (Barrichello) and sixth (Button). Both Brawns managed to make it past the heavily fuelled Kovalainen in the opening laps, and both kept up their pace to complete their final one-two of the season, with Barrichello in first and Button in second. At the Singapore Grand Prix, both drivers suffered problems in qualifying, with Button failing to make it into the third session. Button and Barrichello eventually started eleventh and fifth on the grid, going on to finish fifth and sixth, respectively.[3]
At the Japanese Grand Prix, Brawn had the opportunity to clinch the 2009 Constructors' Championship. The drivers started sixth and tenth, and both of them had reasonably successful races, eventually finishing seventh and eighth. This left Brawn just half a point from winning the Constructors' Championship. After the race, the race stewards announced they were investigating Nico Rosberg for excessive speed under safety car conditions. A typical 25-second penalty would have moved both Brawn drivers one place up and the Constructors' Championship would have been won; it was announced later that Rosberg was in the clear and the race result would stand. At the Brazilian Grand Prix, Button clinched the Drivers' Championship by finishing in fifth place. With Barrichello finishing in eighth place, Brawn also won the Constructors' Championship.[3] In Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, the final race of the season, they finished 3–4, with Button world champion ahead of Barrichello third in the championship. The team also won the 2010 Laureus World Sports Award for Team of the Year as a result of its success.[31] The team had a race win success rate of 47.05% (8 wins in 17 races); by winning both titles in its only year of competition, the team is the first ever to achieve a 100% championship success rate.[3]
Sale to Mercedes-Benz
On 16 November 2009, it was officially announced that
BGP 001
The BGP 001 was originally designed with the intention of becoming the Honda RA109. In fact, owing to the poor performance of the Honda team in 2008, the team made a relatively early start in designing the 2009 car. Following Honda's withdrawal, development of the car continued in the hope that the team would be somehow rescued. Eventually, the car was appropriated by the newly formed Brawn GP team, and modified to accommodate a Mercedes-Benz engine in place of the expected Honda engine. According to team CEO
With the testing moving to Circuito de Jerez, Brawn GP continued to set the pace, finishing the test leading two of the three tests.[40] During an interview, Brawn said there was more speed to come after he explained: "The BGP 001 car is the result of 15 months of intensive development work and the team have been nothing less than fantastic in their commitment to producing two cars in time for the first race."[41] At the first race, an official complaint was launched by four teams against the rear diffusers of the Williams FW31, Toyota TF109, and the Brawn BGP 001 on the grounds that they did not fall within the dimensions set out in the regulations;[42] after analysing the cars, the race stewards reported that the cars were legal. This ruling was appealed and the appeal was heard after the second race of the season.[43] Motorsport's governing body ruled that the car was legal.[44]
There was another complaint at Malaysia after which
Sponsorship
The sponsors that were still with the Honda team at the end of the 2008 season, including Bridgestone, stayed on as sponsors for the start of the 2009 season. On 26 March 2009, Brawn GP announced a partnership with British clothing manufacturer Henri Lloyd. Henri Lloyd, which became the "Official Supplier of Clothing and Footwear Technology" to Brawn GP under the deal, agreed to supply the team with clothing and footwear, with its brand appearing on the BGP 001.[50][51] On 28 March 2009, mid-way through the Australian Grand Prix, Richard Branson announced Virgin as a major sponsor for the team.[52][53] On 17 April, Brawn announced an agreement with MIG Investments, which would sport its logo on the front of the car.[54] It was also confirmed on 19 April that Ray-Ban, a sunglasses manufacturer, would carry on sponsoring the team – its logo appears on the drivers' helmets.[55] At the Bahrain Grand Prix, the cars sported the Virgin Galactic logo instead of Virgin.[56] The team re-signed Endless Advance,[57] as well as NCE Corporation,[58] and signed a new supplier deal with safety harness supplier Willans before the Spanish Grand Prix.[59]
Only for the Spanish Grand Prix, Sony Pictures joined the team with the cars featuring promotional imagery from the film Terminator Salvation.[60] At the Monaco Grand Prix, Google co-founder Larry Page was rumoured to be in talks with Brawn to sponsor the team in 2010. Although a guest of McLaren-Mercedes, Page is believed to want the Google name to appear on a race-winning team.[61] They secured a one-race sponsorship with Wuppertal. The team took up sponsorship from Graham-London before the British Grand Prix, with its logo being shown on the BGP 001s' wing mirrors, including an agreement with Menna Casting. In addition, Monster Energy added its logo to Button's helmet from Silverstone onwards.[62] Branson indicated that Virgin was unlikely to continue its deal next season, citing cost as a hurdle.[63]
For the European Grand Prix, the cars sported the
Legacy
Described as "Formula One's last great fairy-tale story",[69] a four-part documentary starring Keanu Reeves and key Brawn GP personnel was released on 15 November 2023 on Disney+ and Hulu, telling the story of the team's success.[70][71]
Complete Formula One results
(key)
Year | Chassis | Engine | Tyres | Drivers | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | Points | WCC |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
2009 | BGP 001 | Mercedes FO 108W 2.4 V8 | B | AUS | MAL | CHN | BHR | ESP | MON | TUR | GBR | GER | HUN | EUR | BEL | ITA | SIN | JPN | BRA | ABU | 172 | 1st | |
Jenson Button | 1P | 1PF‡ | 3 | 1 | 1P | 1P | 1F | 6 | 5 | 7 | 7 | Ret | 2 | 5 | 8 | 5 | 3 | ||||||
Rubens Barrichello | 2 | 5‡ | 4F | 5 | 2F | 2 | Ret | 3 | 6 | 10 | 1 | 7 | 1 | 6 | 7 | 8P | 4 | ||||||
Sources:[72][73] |
‡ Half points awarded as less than 75% of race distance was completed
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