Brawn GP
Encyclopedia
Brawn GP Formula One Team, the trading name of Brawn GP Limited, was a Formula One
motor racing team and constructor, created by a management buyout
of Honda Racing F1 Team. It only competed in the 2009 Formula One World Championship
, with drivers Jenson Button
and Rubens Barrichello
. The team clinched that year's constructors' championship, and Button took the drivers' title. For 2010, the team again changed identity, becoming Mercedes GP
.
On its racing debut, the season-opening 2009 Australian Grand Prix
, the team took pole position
and 2nd place in qualifying and went on to finish first and second in the race. Button won six of the first seven races of the season and on 18 October at the Brazilian Grand Prix
, he secured the 2009 Drivers' Championship and the team won the Constructors' Championship. Barrichello won twice and finished third in the Drivers' Championship. The team won eight of the season's seventeen races, and by winning both titles in its only year of competition became the first to achieve a 100% championship success rate.
On 16 November 2009 it was confirmed that the team's engine supplier, Mercedes-Benz, in partnership with Aabar Investments had purchased a 75.1% stake in Brawn GP (Mercedes: 45.1%; Aabar: 30%), which was re-named Mercedes GP
for the 2010 season.
, the former technical director for the Honda Racing F1 Team, Ferrari
and Benetton
teams, had bought the team from Honda
in the wake of the Japanese marque's withdrawal from the sport in December 2008. On 17 March 2009 the FIA
officially agreed to the name change from Honda Racing F1 Team to Brawn GP. Although the team can be seen as a continuation of the Honda team (arguably the 4th incarnation of Tyrrell
/BAR
/Honda), the FIA considered Brawn GP to be an entirely new entry, but Keith Hayes, Vice President of FIA, agreed to waive the standard entry fee in recognition of the team's circumstances.
With the loss of Honda's engines, Ross Brawn stated that several manufacturers offered to supply the team's engines, but it was the Mercedes-Benz engines
that best fitted the car with Jenson Button
and Rubens Barrichello
comprising the driver line-up.
Although Honda were thought to be the first team to run a KERS in 2008, Ross Brawn stated in an interview that owing to the circumstances of the change in ownership the team had not had the time to develop the system. On 20 March it was confirmed that Brawn GP would be allocated the final pitlane slot, with Force India
moving up one slot. Bernie Ecclestone
suggested that this was due to the takeover involving a name change, saying that "If ... it was called Honda ... [w]hatever was due to Honda, they [Brawn GP] would have got." For this reason Brawn GP were initially assigned numbers 20 and 21 after Force India were assigned Honda's old numbers of 18 and 19. This however was changed at the request of Force India because their promotional material had already been printed with numbers 20 and 21. Brawn had no objection and were reassigned numbers 22 and 23, with 18 and 19 not assigned to anyone.
The team started off strongly on the Friday Practice of the finishing in the top five. In qualifying at Australia Jenson Button
took pole, with fellow teammate Rubens Barrichello
coming 2nd, followed by Red Bull's
Sebastian Vettel
. This was followed by a race win for Jenson Button, who led from start to finish, with Rubens Barrichello second giving Brawn a 1-2 finish on their debut, which had not happened since Mercedes did it in the 1954 French Grand Prix
.
Jenson Button won the rain-shortened from pole and picked up the fastest lap. With the win in Malaysia, Brawn GP became the only new constructor to win their first two races since Alfa Romeo won the first ever two World Championship Grands Prix at the 1950 British Grand Prix
and .
At the 2009 Chinese Grand Prix
Barrichello qualified in front of Button for the first time this season but in the rain Jenson Button finished 3rd with Rubens Barrichello 4th behind the Red Bulls
of Sebastian Vettel and Mark Webber
.
Button won again at the 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.
At the 2009 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.
At the the same qualifying results as in Spain were achieved with Button on pole. Button led Barrichello, who'd 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.
At the 2009 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 lead the race calmly for the rest of the race with his team mate having many incidents before giving Brawn their first retirement after losing seventh gear.
At the both drivers struggled for the team’s home race. The car couldn't 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.
At the the team suffered the same fate as in Britain as both drivers suffered with tyre temperatures. The team qualified light as to get onto the front row and qualified behind Webber in second and third, respectively. 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 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.
At the Brawn suffered the same uncompetitiveness after experiencing their worst qualifying of the season with Button in eighth and Barrichello in thirteenth, respectively. Although, the reason for Barrichello's underperformance was caused by his rear suspension failing resulting 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 although when the temperatures hit 40oC Button was the fastest man on the track at that point. Button managed to repass Trulli through the final pit stops and pick up seventh with his teammate in tenth closely behind Nakajima and Trulli.
At the , 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 Heikki Kovalainen. While Barrichello thrived, Button started low down the grid, and finished the race in 7th after the retirement of Sebastian Vettel from 4th.
At the Button again had a dismal showing and was taken out by Romain Grosjean on the first lap. Barrichello started 4th, but again had a clutch issue at the start, but managed to work his way up to 7th, his car's engine bursting into flames as he entered the pits.
At the , the Brawns were fuelled heavy, and started 5th (Barrichello) and 6th (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, Barrichello in first, Button in second.
At the , both drivers suffered problems in qualifying, Button failing to make it into the third session.
At the Brawn had the opportunity to clinch the 2009 Constructors Championship, however the drivers started 6th and 10th. Both drivers had reasonably successful races, eventually finishing 7th and 8th. This left Brawn just half a point from winning 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, however it was announced later that Rosberg was in the clear and the race result would stand.
At the Brawn secured the Constructors Championship as Button finished in 5th place with Barrichello in 8th. In Abu Dhabi, the final race of the season, they finished 3-4 with Button world champion and Barrichello 3rd in the championship. The team also won the 2010 Laureus World Sports Award for Team of the Year
as a result of its success.
The team had a race win success rate of 47.05% (8 wins in 17 races), and by winning both titles in its only year of competition, the team is the first ever to achieve a 100% championship success rate.
for 2010
. The remaining 24.9% stake is Ross Brawn's in partnership with Nick Fry
. The team used the Brawn GP base in Brackley for its operations and Brawn stayed on as team principal.
The BGP001 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. However, 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. Jenson Button
performed its shakedown – the car featuring white, fluorescent chartreuse yellow
and black colours. The team gave the BGP 001 its first test at Circuit de Catalunya
on 9 March 2009, topping the timesheets many times. With the testing moving to Circuito de Jerez, Brawn GP continued to set the pace, finishing the test leading two of the three tests. During an interview Brawn said there was more speed to come after he explained that '...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'. 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, but 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. However motorsport's governing body ruled that the car was legal. There was another complaint at Malaysia after which BMW Sauber
joined the appeal after they were deemed legal, again. After the appeal the diffuser was deemed legal by the FIA. In Spain
, the car received its first upgrades since Australia which were mainly to do with the different cooling requirements of the Mercedes engine and gave Brawn a 1-2, just as in Melbourne.
Jenson Button used a single Brawn BGP001 during the 2009 season, making the chassis designated "BGP 001-02" one of the most successful F1 chassis of all time (Rubens Barrichello drove the chassis "BGP 001-01" until it was damaged in a qualifying accident at the Singapore Grand Prix, after which he used "BGP 001-03" for the rest of the season). Jenson Button retains ownership of chassis BGP 001-02 as a condition of his contract with Brawn GP in the eventuality that he won the championship.
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
. The company agreed to supply the team with clothing and footwear, with their brand appearing on the BGP 001. On 28 March 2009 Sir Richard Branson announced Virgin
as a major sponsor for the team. On April 17 Brawn announced an agreement with MIG Investments, who would sport their logo on the front of the car. It was also confirmed on April 19 that Ray-Ban, a sunglasses manufacturer, would carry on sponsoring the team - their logo appears on the drivers' helmets. At the 2009 Bahrain Grand Prix
Virgin sported their Virgin Galactic
logo instead of Virgin. The team re-signed Endless Advance
and NCE Corporation and signed a new supplier deal with safety harness supplier Willans before the . Only for the Spanish Grand Prix, Sony Pictures joined the team with the cars featuring promotional imagery from the upcoming film Terminator Salvation
. At the 2009 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.
The team took up sponsorship from Graham-London before the , with their logo being shown on the BGP 001s' wing mirrors. In addition, Monster Energy
added their logo to Button's helmet from Silverstone onwards. However, Richard Branson indicated that Virgin were unlikely to continue their deal next season, citing cost as a hurdle.
For the Italian Grand Prix in Monza, the BGP001 sported the Italian zipper company Raccagni logo and name on the side wings in front of the side-pods.
For the 2009 Singapore Grand Prix
, Brawn GP secured a sponsorship deal with Canon.
For the 2009 Japanese Grand Prix
, Brawn GP secured a single race sponsorship deal with Angfa Co. Ltd, maker of the medical shampoo Scalp-D, which has proved very popular in Japan since its launch in 2005.
For the 2009 Brazilian Grand Prix
, the event in which they won the Constructors' Championship, Brawn GP had deals with Banco do Brasil
and Petrópolis brewery
to display their colours and beer brand Itaipava and TNT energy drink on both cars. They also had a one-race partnership with Spanish insurance company Mapfre
.
For the 2009 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, the team had a deal with Qatar Telecom.
Half points awarded as less than 75% of race distance was completed
Formula One
Formula One, also known as Formula 1 or F1 and referred to officially as the FIA Formula One World Championship, is the highest class of single seater auto racing sanctioned by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile . The "formula" designation in the name refers to a set of rules with which...
motor racing team and constructor, created by a management buyout
Management buyout
A management buyout is a form of acquisition where a company's existing managers acquire a large part or all of the company.- Overview :Management buyouts are similar in all major legal aspects to any other acquisition of a company...
of Honda Racing F1 Team. It only competed in the 2009 Formula One World Championship
2009 Formula One season
The 2009 Formula One season was the 60th FIA Formula One World Championship season. The season took place over 17 rounds, and started with the on 29 March 2009. It ended on 1 November 2009 with the inaugural ....
, with drivers Jenson Button
Jenson Button
Jenson Alexander Lyons Button MBE is a British Formula One driver currently signed to McLaren. He was the 2009 World Drivers' Champion.Button began karting at the age of eight and achieved early success, before progressing to car racing in the British Formula Ford Championship and the British...
and Rubens Barrichello
Rubens Barrichello
Rubens Gonçalves "Rubinho" Barrichello is a Brazilian Formula One racing driver. He is currently racing for Williams F1.Barrichello has scored the seventh highest points total in Formula One history. Barrichello drove for Ferrari from to , as Michael Schumacher's teammate, enjoying considerable...
. The team clinched that year's constructors' championship, and Button took the drivers' title. For 2010, the team again changed identity, becoming Mercedes GP
Mercedes GP
Mercedes GP Petronas Formula One Team, the trading name of Mercedes-Benz Grand Prix Limited, is a British-based Formula One racing team and constructor, owned by Mercedes-Benz and racing under a German licence since the 2010 season....
.
On its racing debut, the season-opening 2009 Australian Grand Prix
2009 Australian Grand Prix
The 2009 Australian Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held on 29 March 2009 at the Melbourne Grand Prix Circuit, Melbourne, Australia. It was the first race of the 2009 Formula One season. The race, contested over 58 laps, was won by Jenson Button for the Brawn GP team after...
, the team took pole position
Pole position
The term "pole position", as used in motorsports, comes from the horse racing term where the number one starter starts on the inside next to the inside pole. The term made its way, along with several other customs, to auto racing. In circuit motorsports, a driver has pole position when he or she...
and 2nd place in qualifying and went on to finish first and second in the race. Button won six of the first seven races of the season and on 18 October at the Brazilian Grand Prix
2009 Brazilian Grand Prix
The 2009 Brazilian Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race which was held on October 18, 2009 at the Autódromo José Carlos Pace, São Paulo, Brazil. It was the sixteenth race of the 2009 Formula One season...
, he secured the 2009 Drivers' Championship and the team won the Constructors' Championship. Barrichello won twice and finished third in the Drivers' Championship. The team won eight of the season's seventeen races, and by winning both titles in its only year of competition became the first to achieve a 100% championship success rate.
On 16 November 2009 it was confirmed that the team's engine supplier, Mercedes-Benz, in partnership with Aabar Investments had purchased a 75.1% stake in Brawn GP (Mercedes: 45.1%; Aabar: 30%), which was re-named Mercedes GP
Mercedes GP
Mercedes GP Petronas Formula One Team, the trading name of Mercedes-Benz Grand Prix Limited, is a British-based Formula One racing team and constructor, owned by Mercedes-Benz and racing under a German licence since the 2010 season....
for the 2010 season.
Origin
Brawn GP was formed on 6 March 2009 when it was confirmed that Ross BrawnRoss Brawn
Ross James Brawn OBE is an English motorsport engineer and Formula One team principal. He has worked for a number of Formula One teams, serving as the technical director of the championship-winning Benetton and Ferrari teams. He took a sabbatical from the sport in 2007 but returned to F1 for the...
, the former technical director for the Honda Racing F1 Team, Ferrari
Scuderia Ferrari
Scuderia Ferrari is the racing team division of the Ferrari automobile marque. The team currently only races in Formula One but has competed in numerous classes of motorsport since its formation in 1929, including sportscar racing....
and Benetton
Benetton Formula
Benetton Formula Ltd., commonly referred to simply as Benetton, was a Formula One constructor that participated from to . The team was owned by the Benetton family who run a worldwide chain of clothing stores of the same name. In 2000 the team was purchased by Renault, but competed as Benetton for...
teams, had bought the team from Honda
Honda
is a Japanese public multinational corporation primarily known as a manufacturer of automobiles and motorcycles.Honda has been the world's largest motorcycle manufacturer since 1959, as well as the world's largest manufacturer of internal combustion engines measured by volume, producing more than...
in the wake of the Japanese marque's withdrawal from the sport in December 2008. On 17 March 2009 the FIA
Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile
The Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile is a non-profit association established as the Association Internationale des Automobile Clubs Reconnus on 20 June 1904 to represent the interests of motoring organisations and motor car users...
officially agreed to the name change from Honda Racing F1 Team to Brawn GP. Although the team can be seen as a continuation of the Honda team (arguably the 4th incarnation of Tyrrell
Tyrrell Racing
The Tyrrell Racing Organisation was an auto racing team and Formula One constructor founded by Ken Tyrrell which started racing in 1958 and started building its own cars in 1970. The team experienced its greatest success in the early 1970s, when it won three drivers' championships and one...
/BAR
British American Racing
British American Racing was a Formula One constructor that competed in the sport from 1999 to 2005. BAR began by acquiring Tyrrell, and used Supertec engines for their first year...
/Honda), the FIA considered Brawn GP to be an entirely new entry, but Keith Hayes, Vice President of FIA, agreed to waive the standard entry fee in recognition of the team's circumstances.
With the loss of Honda's engines, Ross Brawn stated that several manufacturers offered to supply the team's engines, but it was the Mercedes-Benz engines
Mercedes-Benz High Performance Engines
Mercedes-Benz HighPerformanceEngines Ltd. is a British Formula One engine manufacturer, owned by Mercedes-Benz. Since 1995, their engines have powered McLaren's Formula One cars. For the 2009 season, Mercedes-Benz also supplied the Brawn GP and Force India teams with engines...
that best fitted the car with Jenson Button
Jenson Button
Jenson Alexander Lyons Button MBE is a British Formula One driver currently signed to McLaren. He was the 2009 World Drivers' Champion.Button began karting at the age of eight and achieved early success, before progressing to car racing in the British Formula Ford Championship and the British...
and Rubens Barrichello
Rubens Barrichello
Rubens Gonçalves "Rubinho" Barrichello is a Brazilian Formula One racing driver. He is currently racing for Williams F1.Barrichello has scored the seventh highest points total in Formula One history. Barrichello drove for Ferrari from to , as Michael Schumacher's teammate, enjoying considerable...
comprising the driver line-up.
Although Honda were thought to be the first team to run a KERS in 2008, Ross Brawn stated in an interview that owing to the circumstances of the change in ownership the team had not had the time to develop the system. On 20 March it was confirmed that Brawn GP would be allocated the final pitlane slot, with Force India
Force India
Sahara Force India Formula One Team, the trading name of Force India Formula One Team Limited, is a Formula One racing team based in Silverstone, United Kingdom which currently holds an Indian licence. The team was formed in October 2007 when a consortium led by Indian businessman Vijay Mallya and...
moving up one slot. Bernie Ecclestone
Bernie Ecclestone
Bernard Charles "Bernie" Ecclestone is an English business magnate, as president and CEO of Formula One Management and Formula One Administration and through his part-ownership of Alpha Prema, the parent company of the Formula One Group of companies. As such, he is generally considered the primary...
suggested that this was due to the takeover involving a name change, saying that "If ... it was called Honda ... [w]hatever was due to Honda, they [Brawn GP] would have got." For this reason Brawn GP were initially assigned numbers 20 and 21 after Force India were assigned Honda's old numbers of 18 and 19. This however was changed at the request of Force India because their promotional material had already been printed with numbers 20 and 21. Brawn had no objection and were reassigned numbers 22 and 23, with 18 and 19 not assigned to anyone.
2009 race season
Jenson Button
Jenson Alexander Lyons Button MBE is a British Formula One driver currently signed to McLaren. He was the 2009 World Drivers' Champion.Button began karting at the age of eight and achieved early success, before progressing to car racing in the British Formula Ford Championship and the British...
took pole, with fellow teammate Rubens Barrichello
Rubens Barrichello
Rubens Gonçalves "Rubinho" Barrichello is a Brazilian Formula One racing driver. He is currently racing for Williams F1.Barrichello has scored the seventh highest points total in Formula One history. Barrichello drove for Ferrari from to , as Michael Schumacher's teammate, enjoying considerable...
coming 2nd, followed by Red Bull's
Red Bull Racing
Red Bull Racing is a Formula One racing team based in Milton Keynes, England which currently holds an Austrian licence. It is, along with Scuderia Toro Rosso, one of two teams owned by beverage company Red Bull GmbH. The team have won two Constructors' Championship titles, in and , becoming the...
Sebastian Vettel
Sebastian Vettel
Sebastian Vettel is a German Formula One racing driver, currently driving for Red Bull Racing. He is the current World Champion, having won the championship in and ....
. This was followed by a race win for Jenson Button, who led from start to finish, with Rubens Barrichello second giving Brawn a 1-2 finish on their debut, which had not happened since Mercedes did it in the 1954 French Grand Prix
1954 French Grand Prix
The 1954 French Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held at Reims-Gueux on July 4, 1954, the same date of 1954 Football World Cup Final...
.
Jenson Button won the rain-shortened from pole and picked up the fastest lap. With the win in Malaysia, Brawn GP became the only new constructor to win their first two races since Alfa Romeo won the first ever two World Championship Grands Prix at the 1950 British Grand Prix
1950 British Grand Prix
The 1950 British Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held on 13 May 1950 at the Silverstone Circuit, Silverstone, England. It was the fifth British Grand Prix, and the third to be held at Silverstone after motor racing resumed after World War II. It was the first round of the 1950 World...
and .
At the 2009 Chinese Grand Prix
2009 Chinese Grand Prix
The 2009 Chinese Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held on April 19, 2009 at the Shanghai International Circuit, Shanghai, People's Republic of China. It was the third race of the 2009 Formula One season, a change from previous years, when it took place towards the end of the season.Sebastian...
Barrichello qualified in front of Button for the first time this season but in the rain Jenson Button finished 3rd with Rubens Barrichello 4th behind the Red Bulls
Red Bull RB5
The Red Bull RB5 is a Formula One racing car designed by the Red Bull Racing team for the 2009 Formula One season, and was driven by Sebastian Vettel, who drove for Red Bull's sister team Toro Rosso in the 2008 season, and Mark Webber...
of Sebastian Vettel and Mark Webber
Mark Webber
Mark Alan Webber is an Australian Formula One driver.After some racing success in Australia, Webber moved to the United Kingdom in 1995 to further his motorsport career...
.
At the 2009 Spanish Grand Prix
2009 Spanish Grand Prix
The 2009 Spanish Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held on May 10, 2009 at the Circuit de Catalunya in Montmeló, Spain. It was the fifth race of the 2009 Formula One season....
, 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.
Kimi Räikkönen
Kimi Matias Räikkönen , nicknamed Iceman, is a Finnish racing driver, who will drive in Formula One for Lotus in . After nine seasons racing in Formula One, in which he took the Formula One World Drivers' Championship, he competed in the World Rally Championship from 2009-2011.Räikkönen entered...
off the line, into the first corner with Button leading Barrichello, Räikkönen and Felipe Massa
Felipe Massa
Felipe Massa is a Brazilian Formula One racing driver. He finished second in the Drivers' World Championship, and is under contract to race for Scuderia Ferrari until the end of the season.-Early years:...
for the majority of the race. Button took Brawn's third 1-2 and his first hat trick of wins.
At the 2009 Turkish Grand Prix
2009 Turkish Grand Prix
The 2009 Turkish Grand Prix was the seventh race of the 2009 Formula One season. It was held on June 7, 2009 at Istanbul Park, Istanbul, Turkey.Felipe Massa won the 2008 Turkish Grand Prix for Ferrari, in addition to his wins at Istanbul Park in 2006 and 2007...
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 lead the race calmly for the rest of the race with his team mate having many incidents before giving Brawn their first retirement after losing seventh gear.
At the both drivers struggled for the team’s home race. The car couldn't 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.
At the the team suffered the same fate as in Britain as both drivers suffered with tyre temperatures. The team qualified light as to get onto the front row and qualified behind Webber in second and third, respectively. 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 Kovalainen
Heikki Kovalainen
Heikki Johannes Kovalainen is a Finnish Formula One racing driver who spent the 2008 and 2009 seasons with British based team McLaren and the 2010 and 2011 seasons with Team Lotus....
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.
At the Brawn suffered the same uncompetitiveness after experiencing their worst qualifying of the season with Button in eighth and Barrichello in thirteenth, respectively. Although, the reason for Barrichello's underperformance was caused by his rear suspension failing resulting 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 although when the temperatures hit 40oC Button was the fastest man on the track at that point. Button managed to repass Trulli through the final pit stops and pick up seventh with his teammate in tenth closely behind Nakajima and Trulli.
At the , 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 Heikki Kovalainen. While Barrichello thrived, Button started low down the grid, and finished the race in 7th after the retirement of Sebastian Vettel from 4th.
At the Button again had a dismal showing and was taken out by Romain Grosjean on the first lap. Barrichello started 4th, but again had a clutch issue at the start, but managed to work his way up to 7th, his car's engine bursting into flames as he entered the pits.
At the , the Brawns were fuelled heavy, and started 5th (Barrichello) and 6th (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, Barrichello in first, Button in second.
At the , both drivers suffered problems in qualifying, Button failing to make it into the third session.
At the Brawn had the opportunity to clinch the 2009 Constructors Championship, however the drivers started 6th and 10th. Both drivers had reasonably successful races, eventually finishing 7th and 8th. This left Brawn just half a point from winning Constructors Championship. After the race, the race stewards announced they were investigating Nico Rosberg
Nico Rosberg
Nico Erik Rosberg is a racing driver for the Mercedes GP Formula One team. He races under the German flag in Formula One, although he competed for Finland earlier in his career...
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, however it was announced later that Rosberg was in the clear and the race result would stand.
At the Brawn secured the Constructors Championship as Button finished in 5th place with Barrichello in 8th. In Abu Dhabi, the final race of the season, they finished 3-4 with Button world champion and Barrichello 3rd in the championship. The team also won the 2010 Laureus World Sports Award for Team of the Year
Laureus World Sports Award for Team of the Year
List of winners and nominees of the Laureus World Sports Awards: Team of the Year. Winning team is bolded and shaded in gray.-List of winners and nominees:-See also:*Sportsman of the Year*Sportswoman of the Year*Breakthrough of the Year...
as a result of its success.
The team had a race win success rate of 47.05% (8 wins in 17 races), and by winning both titles in its only year of competition, the team is the first ever to achieve a 100% championship success rate.
Sale to Mercedes
On 16 November 2009 it was officially announced that Daimler AG in partnership with Aabar Investments had purchased a 75.1% stake in Brawn GP (Daimler AG: 45.1%; Aabar: 30%). Reports suggest the partnership paid £110m for the 75.1%. The team would be rebranded as Mercedes GPMercedes GP
Mercedes GP Petronas Formula One Team, the trading name of Mercedes-Benz Grand Prix Limited, is a British-based Formula One racing team and constructor, owned by Mercedes-Benz and racing under a German licence since the 2010 season....
for 2010
2010 Formula One season
The 2010 Formula One season was the 61st Formula One season of World Championship motor racing competition. Red Bull Racing won its maiden Constructors' Championship with a one-two finish in Brazil, while Red Bull Racing's Sebastian Vettel won the Drivers' Championship after winning the final race...
. The remaining 24.9% stake is Ross Brawn's in partnership with Nick Fry
Nick Fry
Nicholas Richard "Nick" Fry, is the Chief Executive Officer of the Formula One constructor Mercedes. He is the former Chief Executive Officer of both Brawn GP and Honda...
. The team used the Brawn GP base in Brackley for its operations and Brawn stayed on as team principal.
BGP 001
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. Jenson Button
Jenson Button
Jenson Alexander Lyons Button MBE is a British Formula One driver currently signed to McLaren. He was the 2009 World Drivers' Champion.Button began karting at the age of eight and achieved early success, before progressing to car racing in the British Formula Ford Championship and the British...
performed its shakedown – the car featuring white, fluorescent chartreuse yellow
Chartreuse (color)
Chartreuse is a color halfway between yellow and green that was named because of its resemblance to the green color of one of the French liqueurs called green chartreuse, introduced in 1764...
and black colours. The team gave the BGP 001 its first test at Circuit de Catalunya
Circuit de Catalunya
The Circuit de Catalunya is a racetrack in Montmeló, to the north of Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain. With long straights and a variety of corners, the Circuit de Catalunya is seen as an all-rounder circuit.-History:...
on 9 March 2009, topping the timesheets many times. With the testing moving to Circuito de Jerez, Brawn GP continued to set the pace, finishing the test leading two of the three tests. During an interview Brawn said there was more speed to come after he explained that '...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'. At the first race
2009 Australian Grand Prix
The 2009 Australian Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held on 29 March 2009 at the Melbourne Grand Prix Circuit, Melbourne, Australia. It was the first race of the 2009 Formula One season. The race, contested over 58 laps, was won by Jenson Button for the Brawn GP team after...
an official complaint was launched by four teams against the rear diffusers
Diffuser (automotive)
A diffuser, in an automotive context, is a shaped section of the car underbody which improves the car's aerodynamic properties by enhancing the transition between the high-velocity airflow underneath the car and the much slower freestream airflow of the ambient atmosphere...
of the Williams FW31
Williams FW31
The Williams FW31 is a Formula One motor racing car, designed and built by WilliamsF1. The AT&T Williams team used the FW31 to compete in the 2009 Formula One season. The car was unveiled on January 19, 2009 at the Autódromo Internacional do Algarve circuit in southern Portugal, and was first...
, Toyota TF109
Toyota TF109
The Toyota TF109 was the Toyota Racing Formula One car for the 2009 Formula One season. It was revealed online on Toyota's website on 15 January 2009 and made its track debut on 18 January at the Autódromo Algarve. As far as performance went, the car was extraordinarily inconsistent...
and the Brawn BGP 001 on the grounds that they did not fall within the dimensions set out in the regulations, but 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. However motorsport's governing body ruled that the car was legal. There was another complaint at Malaysia after which BMW Sauber
BMW Sauber
BMW has been involved in Formula One in a number of capacities since the inauguration of the World Drivers' Championship in . The company entered occasional races in the 1950s and 1960s , before building the BMW M12/13 inline-four turbocharged engine in the 1980s...
joined the appeal after they were deemed legal, again. After the appeal the diffuser was deemed legal by the FIA. In Spain
2009 Spanish Grand Prix
The 2009 Spanish Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held on May 10, 2009 at the Circuit de Catalunya in Montmeló, Spain. It was the fifth race of the 2009 Formula One season....
, the car received its first upgrades since Australia which were mainly to do with the different cooling requirements of the Mercedes engine and gave Brawn a 1-2, just as in Melbourne.
Jenson Button used a single Brawn BGP001 during the 2009 season, making the chassis designated "BGP 001-02" one of the most successful F1 chassis of all time (Rubens Barrichello drove the chassis "BGP 001-01" until it was damaged in a qualifying accident at the Singapore Grand Prix, after which he used "BGP 001-03" for the rest of the season). Jenson Button retains ownership of chassis BGP 001-02 as a condition of his contract with Brawn GP in the eventuality that he won the championship.
Sponsorship
Bridgestone
The is a multinational rubber conglomerate founded in 1931 by in the city of Kurume, Fukuoka, Japan. The name Bridgestone comes from a calque translation and transposition of ishibashi, meaning "stone bridge" in Japanese....
, 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
Henri Lloyd is a British clothing manufacturer established in Manchester, England in 1963, that specialises in making clothes for sailing, yachting and golfing.-Company Information:...
. The company agreed to supply the team with clothing and footwear, with their brand appearing on the BGP 001. On 28 March 2009 Sir Richard Branson announced Virgin
Virgin Group
Virgin Group Limited is a British branded venture capital conglomerate organisation founded by business tycoon Richard Branson. The core business areas are travel, entertainment and lifestyle. Virgin Group's date of incorporation is listed as 1989 by Companies House, who class it as a holding...
as a major sponsor for the team. On April 17 Brawn announced an agreement with MIG Investments, who would sport their logo on the front of the car. It was also confirmed on April 19 that Ray-Ban, a sunglasses manufacturer, would carry on sponsoring the team - their logo appears on the drivers' helmets. At the 2009 Bahrain Grand Prix
2009 Bahrain Grand Prix
The 2009 Bahrain Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held on April 26, 2009, at the Bahrain International Circuit, Sakhir, Bahrain. It was the sixth Bahrain Grand Prix and fourth race of the 2009 Formula One season....
Virgin sported their Virgin Galactic
Virgin Galactic
Virgin Galactic is a company within Richard Branson's Virgin Group which plans to provide sub-orbital spaceflights to the paying public, along with suborbital space science missions and orbital launches of small satellites...
logo instead of Virgin. The team re-signed Endless Advance
Endless Advance
' is a Swedish-based company that provides brakes and brake fluid for the motorsport industry. The company mainly operates from the swedish town of Västerås.- History :...
and NCE Corporation and signed a new supplier deal with safety harness supplier Willans before the . Only for the Spanish Grand Prix, Sony Pictures joined the team with the cars featuring promotional imagery from the upcoming film Terminator Salvation
Terminator Salvation
Terminator Salvation is a 2009 American science fiction action film directed by McG and starring Christian Bale and Sam Worthington. The fourth installment in the Terminator series, the film is set in 2018 and focuses on the war between Skynet and humanity, with the human Resistance fighting...
. At the 2009 Monaco Grand Prix
2009 Monaco Grand Prix
The 2009 Monaco Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race that was held on the 24 May, 2009 at the Circuit de Monaco, in Monaco. The race, which was contested over 78 laps, was the sixth round of the 2009 Formula One season...
Google
Google Inc. is an American multinational public corporation invested in Internet search, cloud computing, and advertising technologies. Google hosts and develops a number of Internet-based services and products, and generates profit primarily from advertising through its AdWords program...
co-founder Larry Page
Larry Page
Lawrence "Larry" Page is an American computer scientist and internet entrepreneur who, with Sergey Brin, is best known as the co-founder of Google. As of April 4, 2011, he is also the chief executive of Google, as announced on January 20, 2011...
was rumoured to be in talks with Brawn to sponsor the team in 2010. Although a guest of McLaren
McLaren
McLaren Racing Limited, trading as Vodafone McLaren Mercedes, is a British Formula One team based in Woking, Surrey, United Kingdom. McLaren is best known as a Formula One constructor but has also competed and won in the Indianapolis 500 and Canadian-American Challenge Cup...
-Mercedes, Page is believed to want the Google name to appear on a race-winning team.
The team took up sponsorship from Graham-London before the , with their logo being shown on the BGP 001s' wing mirrors. In addition, Monster Energy
Monster Energy
-Distribution :Though it is not widely advertised in the media, Monster receives a large amount of recognition from its sponsorship of various sporting events, including motocross and car racing. Hansen Natural Corporation announced a distribution agreement with Anheuser-Busch in the U.S. and Grupo...
added their logo to Button's helmet from Silverstone onwards. However, Richard Branson indicated that Virgin were unlikely to continue their deal next season, citing cost as a hurdle.
For the Italian Grand Prix in Monza, the BGP001 sported the Italian zipper company Raccagni logo and name on the side wings in front of the side-pods.
For the 2009 Singapore Grand Prix
2009 Singapore Grand Prix
The 2009 Singapore Grand Prix was the fourteenth race of the 2009 Formula One season. It was the second Singapore Grand Prix to be part of a Formula One Championship and the tenth Singapore Grand Prix overall. It was also the second Formula One race to be held at night...
, Brawn GP secured a sponsorship deal with Canon.
For the 2009 Japanese Grand Prix
2009 Japanese Grand Prix
The 2009 Japanese Grand Prix was the fifteenth round of the 2009 Formula One season...
, Brawn GP secured a single race sponsorship deal with Angfa Co. Ltd, maker of the medical shampoo Scalp-D, which has proved very popular in Japan since its launch in 2005.
For the 2009 Brazilian Grand Prix
2009 Brazilian Grand Prix
The 2009 Brazilian Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race which was held on October 18, 2009 at the Autódromo José Carlos Pace, São Paulo, Brazil. It was the sixteenth race of the 2009 Formula One season...
, the event in which they won the Constructors' Championship, Brawn GP had deals with Banco do Brasil
Banco do Brasil
Banco do Brasil S.A. is the largest Brazilian and Latin American bank by assets, and the third by market value. The bank, headquartered in Brasília, was founded in 1808 and is the oldest active bank in Brazil — and one of the oldest financial institutions in the world.Banco do Brasil is controlled...
and Petrópolis brewery
Petrópolis brewery
-Beer:The brewery produces a range of lagers and other beers under the brand names Itaipava, Crystal, Lokai, Black Princess, and Petra.-External links:**...
to display their colours and beer brand Itaipava and TNT energy drink on both cars. They also had a one-race partnership with Spanish insurance company Mapfre
Mapfre
Mapfre is a Spanish insurance company, based in Majadahonda, Madrid. The name comes from the old mutual origin of the company , but the company now only refers to itself as Mapfre...
.
For the 2009 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, the team had a deal with Qatar Telecom.
Complete Formula One results
(results in bold indicate pole position; results in italics indicate fastest lap)| Year | Chassis | Engine | Tyres | Drivers | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | Points | WCC |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Brawn BGP 001 Brawn BGP 001 The Brawn BGP 001 is a Formula One world championship winning racing car, designed and built by Brawn GP. It was the first, and only, Formula One car used by the Brawn GP team, used to contest the 2009 Formula One season.The car won eight out of the seventeen Grands Prix it competed in.It was... |
Mercedes-Benz Mercedes-Benz High Performance Engines Mercedes-Benz HighPerformanceEngines Ltd. is a British Formula One engine manufacturer, owned by Mercedes-Benz. Since 1995, their engines have powered McLaren's Formula One cars. For the 2009 season, Mercedes-Benz also supplied the Brawn GP and Force India teams with engines... FO 108W |
AUS 2009 Australian Grand Prix The 2009 Australian Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held on 29 March 2009 at the Melbourne Grand Prix Circuit, Melbourne, Australia. It was the first race of the 2009 Formula One season. The race, contested over 58 laps, was won by Jenson Button for the Brawn GP team after... |
MAL 2009 Malaysian Grand Prix The 2009 Malaysian Grand Prix was a Formula One race held on April 5, 2009 at the Sepang International Circuit in Sepang, Malaysia. It was the second race of the 2009 Formula One season. The race was due to be contested over 56 laps, but due to torrential rain, the race was stopped after... |
CHN 2009 Chinese Grand Prix The 2009 Chinese Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held on April 19, 2009 at the Shanghai International Circuit, Shanghai, People's Republic of China. It was the third race of the 2009 Formula One season, a change from previous years, when it took place towards the end of the season.Sebastian... |
BHR 2009 Bahrain Grand Prix The 2009 Bahrain Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held on April 26, 2009, at the Bahrain International Circuit, Sakhir, Bahrain. It was the sixth Bahrain Grand Prix and fourth race of the 2009 Formula One season.... |
ESP 2009 Spanish Grand Prix The 2009 Spanish Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held on May 10, 2009 at the Circuit de Catalunya in Montmeló, Spain. It was the fifth race of the 2009 Formula One season.... |
MON 2009 Monaco Grand Prix The 2009 Monaco Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race that was held on the 24 May, 2009 at the Circuit de Monaco, in Monaco. The race, which was contested over 78 laps, was the sixth round of the 2009 Formula One season... |
TUR 2009 Turkish Grand Prix The 2009 Turkish Grand Prix was the seventh race of the 2009 Formula One season. It was held on June 7, 2009 at Istanbul Park, Istanbul, Turkey.Felipe Massa won the 2008 Turkish Grand Prix for Ferrari, in addition to his wins at Istanbul Park in 2006 and 2007... |
GBR 2009 British Grand Prix The 2009 Santander British Grand Prix was the eighth race of the 2009 Formula One season. It was held on 21 June 2009 at Silverstone Circuit in Northamptonshire, England. This was scheduled to be the last British Grand Prix to be held at Silverstone, before the event moved to Donington Park for the... |
GER 2009 German Grand Prix The 2009 German Grand Prix was the ninth race of the 2009 Formula One season. It was held on July 12, 2009 at the Nürburgring in Nürburg, Germany; the earliest German Grand Prix on the calendar, since 1926.... |
HUN 2009 Hungarian Grand Prix The 2009 Hungarian Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held on July 26, 2009 at the Hungaroring in Mogyoród, north of Budapest, Hungary. It was the tenth race of the 2009 Formula One season. The race, contested over 70 laps, was won by world champion Lewis Hamilton for McLaren-Mercedes,... |
EUR 2009 European Grand Prix The 2009 European Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race, held on August 23, 2009 at the Valencia Street Circuit in Valencia, Spain. It was the 11th race of the 2009 Formula One season. The race was contested over 57 laps, an overall race distance of 303.9 km... |
BEL 2009 Belgian Grand Prix The 2009 Belgian Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race, held on August 30, 2009 at the Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps near the town of Spa, Belgium. It was the 12th race of the 2009 Formula One season. The race was contested over 44 laps, with an overall race distance of 308.2 km... |
ITA 2009 Italian Grand Prix The 2009 Italian Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held on September 13, 2009 at the Autodromo Nazionale Monza, Monza, Italy. It was the 13th race of the 2009 Formula One season. It was contested over 53 laps.The race was won by Brawn GP's Rubens Barrichello... |
SIN 2009 Singapore Grand Prix The 2009 Singapore Grand Prix was the fourteenth race of the 2009 Formula One season. It was the second Singapore Grand Prix to be part of a Formula One Championship and the tenth Singapore Grand Prix overall. It was also the second Formula One race to be held at night... |
JPN 2009 Japanese Grand Prix The 2009 Japanese Grand Prix was the fifteenth round of the 2009 Formula One season... |
BRA 2009 Brazilian Grand Prix The 2009 Brazilian Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race which was held on October 18, 2009 at the Autódromo José Carlos Pace, São Paulo, Brazil. It was the sixteenth race of the 2009 Formula One season... |
ABU 2009 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix The 2009 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix was the seventeenth and last race of the 2009 Formula One season. It took place on November 1, 2009 at the 3.45-mile Hermann Tilke-designed Yas Marina Circuit. It was the inaugural Abu Dhabi Grand Prix and also the first ever day-night Grand Prix... |
172 | 1st | |||
| Jenson Button Jenson Button Jenson Alexander Lyons Button MBE is a British Formula One driver currently signed to McLaren. He was the 2009 World Drivers' Champion.Button began karting at the age of eight and achieved early success, before progressing to car racing in the British Formula Ford Championship and the British... |
1 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 6 | 5 | 7 | 7 | Ret | 2 | 5 | 8 | 5 | 3 | ||||||
 Rubens BarrichelloRubens Barrichello Rubens Gonçalves "Rubinho" Barrichello is a Brazilian Formula One racing driver. He is currently racing for Williams F1.Barrichello has scored the seventh highest points total in Formula One history. Barrichello drove for Ferrari from to , as Michael Schumacher's teammate, enjoying considerable... |
2 | 5 | 4 | 5 | 2 | 2 | Ret | 3 | 6 | 10 | 1 | 7 | 1 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 4 |
Half points awarded as less than 75% of race distance was completed