10 years ago… the beginnings of the Brawn GP fairy tale

As the teams took a break after the 2008 final, the announcement stunned the team's 700 employees. F1 from Honda: the Japanese manufacturer stops its involvement with immediate effect in the discipline. There car 2009, already well developed, is put in the boxes. I have to say that the financial crisis as well as the poor results (9th of the Manufacturers with 14 points) thought heavy in the balance. 

We had to wait until March 5 for Ross Brawn to manage to buy back the team to which he was previously attached as director for a symbolic dollar. Jenson Button and Rubens Barrichello agree to drastically lower their salary intentions. The next day (March 6), the single-seater, which will be soberly renamed Brawn BGP 001, only carried out a burn-in at Silverstone (Great Britain), while the other teams accumulated the kilometers in Portimao (Portugal), Bahrain, Jerez and Barcelona (Spain). Hurry up.

The former technical manager of Benetton and Ferrari did not, however, lack confidence three weeks before the first event in Australia. “We believe in the fundamental design of our car (hidden allusion to the discovery of the double-diffuser, an appendage allowing to boost the air flow at the level of the diffuser. Editor's note). At first we might have some reliability issues due to lack of testing but we hope the performance will be respectable. »

Journalists in the press room at the Barcelona circuit (Spain) almost fell out of their seats when Jenson Button's Brawn made its first run on March 9. For a moment, the future 2009 champion set the best time! The Briton finally goes down to fourth place while completing 82 laps in a euphoric state. “After the challenges we faced, to come here and have such an encouraging start is just what we needed. All our efforts paid off. We can be very proud of ourselves », he said positively. 

Fernando Alonso, who was going to experience a year of hardship with Renault, is very doubtful about the form of Brawn GP. Is the winter record set by Jenson Button a bluff? “We don't know how much gasoline they carry, but even if we drove without gasoline, we wouldn't be able to achieve these times. They are one step ahead of us. It is not normal that they go so quickly for first tests although, by analyzing the situation carefully, it is possible. We know that Honda was preparing the 2009 car as early as 2007."

The Spaniard didn't think he was saying that well. On March 27, Brawn GP achieved a resounding double on the Melbourne circuit (Australia), with the success of Jenson Button ahead of Rubens Barrichello, the first victory towards a double Drivers' and Manufacturers' title.