15 years ago: the slap inflicted by Brawn GP in Australia

The regulatory revolution introduced in this 2022 season of Formula 1 allowed the peloton to change its appearance. Dominant team in the V6 turbo hybrid era, Mercedes poorly negotiated this shift and finds itself in a delicate position never seen since 2014. Conversely, Aston Martin was able to take advantage of this to catch up with the leading group led by the Red Bull. But these new dynamics are nothing compared to the commotion that shook up F1 on March 29, 2009 in Melbourne (Australia).

ALSO READ > R. Brawn: Brawn GP, ​​“the success of which I am most proud”

In the Antipodes, F1 adopts new rules, primarily relating to the aerodynamics of single-seaters. The overdose of deflectors and other appendages has lasted long enough, the FIA ​​wishing to resolve (already) the question of tracking the cars in the dirty air released by the previous car and thus improve the spectacle on the track.

If the atmospheric V8 is preserved, the governing bodies decide to project (timidly) into the future by adding a Kinetic Energy Recovery System (SREC). The hybrid system delivers 400 kJ on a lap and must be used as a boost by the driver via a button on the steering wheel. This element is not obligatory, and Brawn GP will not have it for the entire 2009 season.

Brawn GP, ​​who?

Now known as F1's Motorsports Director (in other words, one of the sport's bosses), Ross Brawn briefly named his own team after acquiring it for a symbolic £XNUMX. Yes, it sounds crazy, but it's not a legend!

The former engineer at Benetton and Ferrari in fact bought the Honda team from the Japanese manufacturer when it pulled the plug following the economic crisis at the end of 2008 (and a glaring lack of performance). Problem: Brawn GP does not have a round in the crates.

READ ALSO > The beginnings of the Brawn GP fairy tale

Preserved, the pilots Jenson Button and Rubens Barrichello agree to cut their salaries by up to 80% for the Briton. The mechanics will have to travel low-cost with EasyJet to go to the events. The supply of the engines is ensured by Mercedes, but the announcement only comes on March 6.

On this date, all rival teams have more than started their testing programs. The Brawn GP BGP 001 is only being debugging at Silverstone! However, the car has been developed since the winter of 2007. Technical director for Honda since 2008, Ross Brawn had the time to imagine a genius idea: the double diffuser.

This appendage greatly improves the passage of the air flow at the end of the flat bottom of the car. The result is exceptional cornering grip compared to the use of a “simple” diffuser. Alone Williams et Toyota had the same thought as Ross Brawn. The winter tests in Barcelona were promising (4th best time) but it is impossible to know if the independent team was running on empty to attract sponsors for a desperately white and empty bodywork or if it was honest.

The famous double diffuser © DPPI / JM Le Meur

A dream weekend

The small world of F1 therefore meets in Albert Park for the inaugural round at the end of March. Brawn GP's suitcases are rather light because only one spare wing per driver was taken, and 40 people made the trip compared to around a hundred at Honda's time.

But it's not the quantity that counts, and the small team demonstrates this by taking pole position thanks to Jenson Button with a three-tenths margin over his colleague "Rubinho" Barrichello. Third, Sebastian Vettel, just promoted to Red Bull, is more than six tenths behind! Since Tyrrell in 1970 and Jackie Stewart, never has a new team achieved such a performance at its first GP!

“The last five or six months have been so difficult because we went from having no drive or no future in F1 to being on pole here, it's just incredible, rejoiced the future world champion. This is where we deserve to be after the difficult times we have experienced. »

The race will only be a formality, even if Rubens Barrichello inadvertently causes a pile-up at the first corner. “I hit the anti-stall, so the car went into neutral. I regained speed quite quickly but I had lost a lot of pace compared to the others and I was hit from behind by a McLaren and it put me sideways and I hit someone (Mark Webber) very strong.

I thought the car was dead, but I survived pretty well, but on my first stint my nose went down and I also lost braking stability when I hit Kimi (Räikkönen) a bit later. He closed the door and I couldn't avoid him. » However, the Brazilian's car is so fast that he will climb without any problem from seventh position to second row, behind Jenson Button who calmly led his boat.

“At one point, at the start of the race, I asked my engineer on the radio to wake me up. We had just completed five laps and I already had a 5 second lead, I couldn't believe it. »

The end of the race will take place under Safety Car regime following the collision between Sebastian Vettel and Robert Kubica (BMW-Sauber), the two men fighting for the last step of the podium. The Pole benefited from tires in better condition but the young German had insisted too much to keep his place:

“A result like this less than a month after saving the team is extraordinary, declared Ross Brawn. I can't find the words... The work of the people at the factory, their motivation, their passion has been fantastic, despite the situation which has not been easy every day. And with so few private tests this winter. »

“Ross is usually very talkative but now, in the last quarter of an hour, I barely heard him, remarked Jenson Button. Even on the podium, he had nothing to say. I guess he was as surprised as we were by this result. This day was truly special for the big bear that he is! »

Brawn GP will be able to capitalize on an idyllic spring to maintain a sufficient lead, both in the Drivers' championship with Jenson Button and in the Manufacturers' championship, to win the two titles at the end of the season. It will then be Mercedes’ turn to enter the scene…