Brawn

Brawn GP competed in Formula 1 for only one season, in 2009, but its impact was extraordinary. The team emerged from Honda’s works operation after Honda withdrew at the end of 2008, with Ross Brawn leading a management buyout. Despite limited resources and an uncertain winter, the car developed under Honda became one of the most effective designs of the new regulations. The BGP001 gained a major advantage through its aerodynamic concept, especially the double diffuser. Jenson Button won repeatedly in the early part of the season and went on to become World Champion, while Rubens Barrichello also won races. Brawn GP secured the Constructors’ Championship, achieving a level of success almost unimaginable for a team fighting for survival only months earlier. After the season, Brawn GP was bought by Mercedes and became the direct foundation of the modern Mercedes works team. Its story is one of Formula 1’s greatest one-season miracles: a team rescued at the last moment, transformed into a champion, and then turned into the base for a future dynasty. Few names in F1 burned so briefly and so brightly.