Formula 1 Icons : Brawn GP

Possibly one of the most recognisable team in Formula 1 history, Brawn GP was formed by Ross Brawn’s famous ‘1 Quid Buyout’ of the Honda Racing Formula 1 team. Although only participating in the 2009 Formula 1 Championship, Brawn GP had a short and possibly the most successful career in Formula 1.

In December of 2008, Honda Racing Formula 1 Team, formerly known as the BAR Honda, had announced that they would be withdrawing from the FIA Formula 1 series as a whole, due to several critical financial issues, as the team only received 13% of the profit compared to the 2007 Championship, combined with the global economic crisis. Although withdrawing and having a massive financial loss for Honda, it was Honda Racing’s priority to sell the team in one condition; to continue the team to race in Formula 1. It was quoted by Yomiuri Shimbun, a Japanese newspaper that during an interview with an unnamed Honda official, he claimed “The price wasn’t a problem” when selling the team to Ross Brawn, who purchased the team to continue in Formula 1 for 1 British Pound, which translated to 1.42 USD in 2008.

Honda Racing Formula 1 Team, which was rebranded as Brawn GP for the 2009 FIA Formula 1 Championship, continued to hire former Honda Racing driver Rubens Barrichello and Jenson Button for the season. Although many considered Brawn GP as a continuation of the Honda Racing Formula 1 Team, the FIA acknowledged Brawn GP as a completely new contender in the sports. With Ross Brawn as the team principal, Brawn GP continued to hire all 700 former Honda Racing employees for the 2009 Championship, including several notable employees such as Nick Fry, who would soon be the Chief Executive Officer of Mercedes AMG Petronas Formula 1 Team in the near future. Brawn GP used a Mercedes powerplant, which meant that it lost the KERS system Honda Racing utilized in the 2008 Championship. Brawn GP continued to receive sponsorship from former Honda sponsors, such as Bridgestone, but also received backings from Bruno Senna, nephew of the late Ayrton Senna.

Brawn GP entered the 2009 Championship with the BGP 001, with the lead technical director being Ross Brawn. Formerly as the 2009 Honda Racing Formula 1 machinery, the BGP 001 received major critical updates, most notable being the ‘Double Diffuser’ design. A traditional diffuser helps the overall aerodynamics of the machinery by diverting the airflow that is going underneath the machinery to exit in a way that would produce the most amount of downforce. However, Brawn GP used a conventional rear diffuser, known as the ‘Double Diffuser’ or the ‘Double Decker Diffuser’ design. This design featured another set of diffusers installed on the upper deck of the machinery, which was fed up by openings created on the floor of the machinery. By having two decks of diffusers, the machinery could produce more downforce and faster airflow throughout the diffusers and the under tray in higher speeds, allowing the BGP 001 to be faster than other machineries, while being more heavier due to the changes made to the body to fit the Mercedes powerplant.

Although originally Ross Brawn stated that he hopes for a ‘respectable’ performance, Brawn GP was incredibly successful, winning the 2009 Australian Grand Prix, which was the first race for the BGP 001 and Brawn GP as a whole. Although some other teams such as Red Bull and Ferrari did appeal to the FIA that the BGP 001 was ‘illegal’ alongside William’s FW31 and Toyota’s TF109 due to their conventional diffuser design, the appeal was declined as the rules did not suggest that the ‘Double-Decker Diffuser’ design was illegal. Brawn GP broke several records in the 2009 Championship, this include 1-2 finish on their debut, which was done before in 1954 and the first ever time a Formula 1 machinery won 3 races in a row using the same powerplant, which was achieved by Jenson Button in the 2009 Monaco Grand Prix. Although it was revealed that the car was rushed throughout development, Brawn GP only retired twice in the entire championship, and won the manufacture’s title and the driver’s title with Jenson Button.

After the 2009 Championship, it was announced that Daimer AG purchased a 75% stake of Brawn GP and the team was rebranded as Mercedes GP for the 2010, 2011 and the 2012 season. In 2013, Daimer AG announced that Brawn GP was fully acquired by the Daimer group for a sum of 110 million Euros. Although Brawn GP was no longer in operation, Ross Brawn stayed as team principal in the 2013 Championship, which he then announced his retirement at the end of 2013.