The remarkable story of Brawn GP

I know this blog is aimed more at Brawn than JB but i'd just like to say fair play to Jenson for clinching the title in Brazil. He has had his fair number of detractors in the second half of the year (i admit to being one of them) - but that drive should surely silence them (for at least a few months anyway).

Whilst Vettel and Hamilton came from further back, it is worth acknowledging Button had much more to lose when lining up an overtake compared to his rivals, plus the Brawn was not the match of Red Bull (and arguably the McLaren in a dry weather set up).

The key question for me is whether Brawn will be able to keep the momentum up for next season. Its fair to say they have lost ground to a number of teams in the last few months...

Once again, congrats to Jenson Button and Brawn GP for well and truly shaking up the establishment in 2009!

Cant wait for next year now, to see Brawn, Mclaren, Ferrari and Red Bull going at it, should provide some great racing. In a world full of doom and gloom, this is a great success story, and quite a fairly tale too, congrats to Brawn on a most deserved win.

Im so glad that Button came through! and i hope that after all the (baseless) criticism he's had, "unworthy champion" my foot, people will give him a bit more respect now, especially after yesterdays drive, passing 5 cars on the track in once race...who else has done that this year? pace between pit stops aided McLaren and Red Bull yesterday, with Vettel and Hamilton showing their worth, but JB did more talking in traffic!

Its interesting to hear about the engine/gearbox compromise!!! i'd never heard about that! no wonder the car seemed unbalanced at times! I hope with the confidence a World Championship brings, and the budget of future concrete associates will inevetibly introduce, that Brawn GP will give it a good do again next year! with or without button in the car (preferably with, but for me the team's story is much bigger than jenson's) it will be great if Brawn GP can have some success again!

This aricle to me sums up the the whole amazing season. There are so many ill informed bloggers on 606 who just knock the driver but it is this detail about the chassis etc that show what an amaxing feat has been achieved with a great leader, top drivers, great design and enigneering and not all the money. Champions indeed.

Putting young chargers (with little development skill) in those cars this year would have tied the team up in knots and cost them dearly.

Great Article Andrew, your best yet!!! I really enjoyed reading it and love the deeper picture that you have given that shows how truly phenomenal the efforts of all at Brawn.

Mercedes must be rubbing their hands with glee at the prospect of being heavily involved in 2 of the prospective front running teams of next season.... any chance of running down an interview with Norbet Haug or someone at Mercedes about their hopes for next season?

P.S. Is there any more rumours about which engine Red Bull will be using next season? Or will they be sticking with Renault?

Huge congratulations to Ross, Nick, Jenson, Rubens and all the team at BrawnGP. What a season, and as you say, a fairytale ending. At least with the success this year, it should not be too difficult to get some solid financing behind them.
Fascinating story about the car having to be chopped about to fit the engine and gearbox, sounds like a blue peter model!
I think that they will have a fight on their hands, with McLaren and Ferrari making a comeback next year, and Red Bull having had a taste will be keen to capitalise on this years success.
I for one can't wait for 2010 (not forgetting we still have one race left this year of course).

Can I put a nomination in for Sports Personality of the year..... Ross Brawn

Excellent blog Andrew! It really is a brilliant story and Brawn have achieved a feat that I doubt will ever be equaled, frankly. I didn't know that their car was 'a botch job', either. Very impressed by them all and I hope that they will remain competitive next year! Brawn vs Ferrari vs McLaren vs Red Bull. Yes please!

It will be interesting to see how good the bespoke chassis is, on the basis they appeared to have stumbled on a bodged good'un after some poor efforts. I hope they pull it together. It's been good to see BrawnGP and Red Bull up there.

Congrats to all at BrawnGP on a fairytale year!

I hope Button signs for Brawn again!

Its good for Button to enjoy his brief moment in the sun after years of mid-pack mediocrity. To be honest I feel normal service will be resumed next year and Button will be cast back from whence he came. But hopefully he has silenced a few of his detractors.

Congratulations Brawn and Button! Its a helluva story.

Great Blog, really enjoyable read and congratulations to Brawn GP and Jenson Button!!! (Hope Hamilton gets his title back next year though)

Andrew Benson says that Honda made an enormous error by pulling out when they at last had a race winning chassis.

I for one do not think that the team would have had any success at all if Honda had stayed in. The combination of a weak engine and intrusive corporate oversight would have crippled the team.

That said, Brawn, Button, Barichello and the rest of the team have performed superbly all season. Congratulations (and drinks) all round.

Poor Honda

Their Public Relations Manager should be sacked!
I remember the unbeatable Honda-powered MClarens driven by Prost and Senna (what a great engine!), and to have the only team in Formula 1 advocating environmental issues pulling out the way they did was tragic to say the least.
What I don't understand is why Honda, with the vast investment already bestowed to a newly-formed Brawn GP, didn't actually pay for continued sponsorship for the car, in particular displaying part of the environmental livery that Honda used over the last 2 years?

As far as SPOTY goes, if Brawn GP don't win the Team award, and Button doesn't win the main gong, then there's something very wrong with this country.

The story of Brawn GP is one of the most incredible there's ever been in sport, knocking every other "phoenix from the flames" story into a cocked, sponsor-emblazened team baseball cap. It'd be incredible even if they'd only trundled around at the back of the field all season, their mere presence on the grid was a major surprise. But to beat the might of Ferrari, Mercedes (as McLaren), Toyota, BMW and Renault, as well as the moneybags Red Bull team, is utterly astonishing.

They also did things in the right way, with no dubious circumstances to their victories, no questionable behaviour from their drivers. Brawn, Button and Barrichello are heroes all.

I was dissapointed that there was not a re-run of the race via the red-button.I missed the race as I was working and was looking forward to watching it when I got home at around 9p.m.The highlights were very vague and from watching them,I don't know how Button managed to get up to fifth.Please make race available on red-button.After-all it was the championship deciding race

replay available on iplayer: https://bbc.kongjiang.org/www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/b00ncb8m/Formula_1_2009_The_Brazilian_Grand_Prix/
Full marks to both Jenson and the Brawn team - overall and despite the political ranglings in the sport, this has been a great season. I can't wait for next season already!
Good blog BTW.

Aston Villa for the premiership and the season of shocks is well and truly here!

Brilliant last ride - this from a detractor

Great article on the Brawn team, and some of the engineering background.

I hope with the title now wrapped up, that the Beeb can give us a bit more on this place in Brackley that Ross was giving praise to. We've seen pictures from the Macca superbase in Woking, so it's about time we saw behind the scenes at BGP. Just what does it take to make a championship-winning car.

Only 3 chassis though... It shows what you get by having drivers that don't keep crashing out!

great point pomwombat, I doubt minardi even built that few chassis in the tightest of times. I suspect re-build costs have sent a team or 2 under over the year.

Amazing story about how crudely the engine and gearbox were fitted in. Imagine if had been designed for the merc from the start, and also what they might do with a properly prepared car next season. I wish them many more victories next year!

Ross Brawn is the true Master of the F1 Universe

Genius management

Ross Brawn's achievement as team leader should be up there with Clive Woodward, Alex Ferguson and Ian McGeechan. To achieve so much with Ferrari is considerable, but to do it again after such a difficult winter is astonishing.

Well done Ross Brawn and the team! Perhaps all those who have delighted in knocking Jenson all through this season of F1 will shut up and go and vent their opinions somewhere else.
It would be a pity for Rubens to leave the Brawn team at the end of the year. He has been a great team mate to Jenson, is very competative and a gentleman to boot and most of all, with Brawn, he has been allowed to race, something he was never allowed to do when running a red car with the nag on the front.
Keep going Ross Brawn, show them all how it is done again in 2010.

Andrew, Ross Brawns sucesses are 8 constructors titles and 8 drivers, I believe.

Benetton 95, Ferrari 99, 00, 01, 02, 03, 04 and Brawn GP 09.

Scheuy 94, 95, 00, 01, 02, 03, 04 and Button 09..

Not being picky but a great blog anyway.

Well done to Button & Brawn - ultimately, a job well done.
For Button, most race wins & points = champion. 'Nuff said.

Have to say, though, I think that this year will only be able to be properly assessed after next season - this one has been a bit of an oddity.

Have to say though, Button IS the luckiest champion ever. Not his own - you make your own luck to a point, and he's made plenty this year - but everyone else's bad luck. So much in one year - heck, after two corners yesterday, 4 cars in front of him fell off & Barrichelo (sic) gets a puncture, finally killing his chances . . .

Bring on next year! And please, let's have Ari in!

@22 He was level with Alex and co in his Ferrari days, what he has achieved in the last year and half (since he took over as team principle at Honda last year) has shoved him into another league beyond them.

Honda had to quit otherwise they would of gone into administration. Secondly they knew they were going to do well I saw an interview with Brawn the season prior to honda quitting and he said that vast amounts of dosh has been spent and they were going to contend for the title

Honda have not missed out at all, in fact selling the team was the BEST move they could have made.

Pretty much everyone undersands that this was a car designed primarily with Honda money using Honda equipment and Honda data. In fact the only people who have been keen to ignore that have been the press who wante to blow this up as a "tiny team beat the big guns" story from day 1. The truth is of course a bit of both, most likely the Brawn car has had the most money thrownat it out of all those on the grid from the start of development back in May 2008 until the end of the season, though they have had to deal with uch saller figures from March 1009 of course. So Honda are still gettgin (and rightly so) a lot of the credit for the work they put in.

However, had Honda stayed with the team would it have done so well? Not a chance I say. As you correctly stated the Hona engine has not been competitive for years and having the Mercedes in there (even with the compromises) was good for at least 0.5-1.0 seconds a lap in most people's estimation. Honda, big company making losses and desperate not to upset sponsors, would quite likely have also backed down during the whole diffuser row so as to not incur any bad publicity. Removing the difuser after the first race would have lost the team another 0.5 seconds. Then there is the third issue that they would have likely not retained Rubens Barricello, there is little doubt that while he has been second to Buton when the pressure was on in the early season (only really coming to life once well behind), he has done a lot to help develop the initial car and since then to enable the team to limit their losses to other cars from a lack of budget by providing excellent technical feedback, as has Button of course. With the inexpereinced Senna on board would they have had the same feedback? I doubt it.

In the end I firmly believe that it was Honda selling the team that combined with all the other unusual occurances (early development start, changing rules, poor MM/Ferrari cars) have lead Brawn to being able to compete at this level. If they had not sold up ten I would have expected to see Honda start well enough but trail off to finish behind the Red Bulls.

First of all well done for Brawn - fantastic sotry and I have ultimate respect for Ross. In any industry, you can't get better proof of being at the top of your game than repetition, and he's done this together with the team in such challenging circumstances - fantastic.

But in the midst of the Button love-fest, I specifically must make my point that Button is a poor champion - and thanks goodness he won't be getting the strokes of luck he has in the following seasons to ever win again.

Compare his driving to Alonso, Schumi even Damon Hill to name just a few - Button is a boring driver (who, for one race only, finally showed some brass yesterday but I'm sure that will disappear).

Hamilton drives like I would if I had the skill - always exciting, always pushing, flinging the car around. Yes it might spectacularly go wrong on occasion, but he is loved for it and will go down in history with the afore mentioned names and others of similar ilk in racing history.

Jenson? Good job, enjoy it while it lasts because it certainly won't come again and you will be a footnote in F1 history.

On the whole, is is a very, very BORING driver with above average skill. When was the last time a great driver's name with those characteristics popped into your mind?

REF 28
Interesting to see how the Honda pull-out actually aided Brawn GP with a Mercedes engine...

REF 29
OMG!I have been critical of Button as much as most in terms of him finding the champion's drive/worthy etc...
Please take the words of wisdom of a certain Niki Lauda on Jenson. He is World Champion. He is a Brit. And we should all salute him...what a race! -
Kubica, Vettel,Hamilton,Button - all pulled off amazing personal goals...as Brundle says, this sport is in rude health.... and Alonso at Ferrari? you just wait and see...

Very good informative article, interesting to read background to such a successful campaign. Heartiest Congrats to Ross, Jenson, Rubens and all at Brawn for a job well done. What a fantastic Team Effort.

New Years Honours List: Sir Ross Brawn, Jenson Button O.B.E. (Maybe a C.B.E. but remember Hammi only got an M.B.E. but he is a lot younger). Nick Fry also maybe an O.B.E. as Corporate Management and being part of saving so many jobs {even though sadly 270 suffered) deserves recognition. Pity we can't give foreigners a gong as Rubens deserves an award if only for his gentlemanly conduct.

@28 - The only comment of yours that I can agree with you about is the Rubens/Senna one.

If the Mercedes engine is "the difference maker" then how come McLaren and Force India have done so badly for huge parts/ most of the season? I would say the fact that Brawn chopped the end off their chassis and had to do a load of bodging to get the engine and gearbox to fit says a lot about the car they developed, the fact that they have used the same 2(3) bodged chassis all seasons speaks wonders about the brilliance of the car.

As for Honda throwing huge bundles of cash at the car last season, yeah thats a valid point... up to a point. Toyota have thrown just as big sums of cash at their cars for and what have they to show for it? BMW ditched development of last years car mid-season and threw everything they had (from a successful previous years as well) into developing this seasons car and what did that gain them? Team Brawn where given a great start to the season by Honda and then had to lay off a huge part of their staff and have fought tooth and nail on pennies in F1 terms to keep their bodged car in contention.

If Honda had still been there I think they would have had an even better chassis / package and would have been able to develop it at the pace of other teams to try and maximise the potential of the car. Honestly I don't think we know the potential of the Honda engine had it been re-speced for this season, their car has been such a dog the previous 2 years that it could have been every bit as good as the Mercedes engine and we would never have known it... look at McLaren at the start of this season, until Germany the only track they were anywhere near competitive was Monaco... hardly the most engine important track of the season.

As for the diffuser debate.... 3 teams had the double diffuser all season, and one of those teams has won 8 out of the 16 races so far this season (and at least half of those races have been won after the rest of the leading pack had them as well).... the other 2 teams.... have won none.

Regardless Brawn have worked miracles with what they have had.

@29 Jenson has done more overtaking this season than anyone... He has pulled off brilliant move after brilliant move in race after race. The only driver who has been close to him in overtaking this season has been Lewis, certainly out of the front end drivers.

As for next season how about you join the rest of us next season to watch it... rather than telling us now what is 'going to happen'.

Even if Button had not done well this time but still, in the final GP, had done enough to win the championship he would still have been 'worthy' He won six (6) Gp's for goodness sake! Hamilton only won 5 and won from Massa (6 GP's) by only one point. A dubious one at that knowing ,as we do now ,of last years Singapore shenanigans. Now ,with his magnificent drive in Brazil Button cannot win the championship with anything less than a four point margin, and that assumes that Vettel wins and Button does not score. So he betters Hamilton in every way including the fact that Hamilton won in Brazil last year in lack lustre fashion with the (inadvertent) aid of Glock.
To answer IrishF1fan., who couldn't see the race (I hope tne BBC accede to his request). On the face of it both Vettel and Hamilton , who both drove brilliantly, actually were more spectacular than Button but then, one had nothing to lose and the other was finished if he did not win. I believe also that analysis shows that both were aided by pit stops whilst Button was disadvantaged by coming out after Kovelainin (which I can't spell). My sympathies go out to Barichello but he did, after all, have the same car as Button at the beginning of the seaon as at the end.
Now, according to the artical, we find that the car was 'botched' anyway so even greater credit to all at Brawn. Finally those detracters who claim it was down to the diffuser alone. Well it wasn't and, in any event, it was legal, enough said.

Congrats to Brawn. They fully deserve the title. Ross Brawn is an legend and fully deserves a Sir in the New Year's Honour List. Jenson Button should hopefully get 2009 BBC Sports Personality Of The Year.

Barrichello is probably one of the unluckiest drivers yet. Cos at Ferrari he always had to play second fiddle to Michael Schumacher. He had a chance to take the driver's title to Ahu Dhabi and blew it.

Honda must be feeling gutted.
Can't wait to 2010 Season
Brawn: Button, Rosberg
Red Bull: Vettel, Webber
McLaren: Hamilton, (not sure). Difficult to decide
Ferrari: Alonso, Massa
Renault: Kubica, Kovalainen
Toyota: Raikkonen, Glock
Force India: Sutil, Liuzzi
Toro Rosso: Buemi, Algersauri
Williams: Barrichello, Hulkenburg
Manor: Carroll, Paffett
Campos: De La Rosa, Senna
Lotus: Petrov, Trulli
USF1- Wurz, Andretti
Qadbuck BMW- Heidfeld, Grosjean.
WHAT ABOUT YOUR REVISED 2010 DRIVERS LINE UP ANYBODY PLEASE FEEL FREE TO COMMENT.

Can't wait for 2010- ALONSO, BUTTON, HAMILTON fighting out for the championship.

@29 Yes, Hamilton is exciting and often close to the edge, but I have to say I admire Jenson Button's style more. I see far more beauty in Jenson's smooth style than I do in Hamilton's ragged edge approach. I know who I'd prefer to replicate. Also, Button was king of the over-takers this year and if you don't believe that then you clearly weren't watching the races.

First of all. Massive congrarulations to Brawn and Button for a formidable job of making the most out of the little they had at the beginning of the season. I am, however going to play devils advocate here and respond to the comments regarding JB's overtaking record. Could it be that maybe he overtook more because he generally started further back than his rivals in the majority of the races? (second half of season anyway). When surrounded by drivers such as Piquet Jr, Kobayashi, etc, surely he's to be expected to overtake more? Anyway, moot point. Well done Jenson and good luck next season.

On the whole, is is a very, very BORING driver with above average skill. When was the last time a great driver's name with those characteristics popped into your mind?
----------

Alain Prost.






If the Mercedes engine is "the difference maker" then how come McLaren and Force India have done so badly for huge parts/ most of the season?

--------------

I didnt say ti was THE difference maker. Of course the design/chassis was excellent, however it needs BOTH parts to be excellent to make a championship winning team.

McLaren by mid-season had a championship winning car, they fell down largely because they started developing the car months after everyone else did.

Force India only managed success at all due to the engine and a good low-downforce setup, they just do not have the funds to consistently challenge.

The Mercedes engine was the best in the field by some distance, which is why RBR want to switch to it for 2010. To imagine that Honda would have providd somethign as good given their track record would be at best naive.

The 'Brawn GP story' is indeed amazing. To be so close to ruin and now to win the Constructors title.. well it's fairytale stuff. Sure Honda laid the foundations for the car, but it is Brawn and his team that made it win and be successful. I bet Honda are gutted after this, and I bet Toyato are having a little giggle eventhough they've had another disappointing season based on the money they throw at F1!

Button deserves to be the champion, and I laugh at those who disagree. He's won races and been bagging points finishes when the car wasn't capable of winning, apart from Spa when Grosjean cause him to retire - hardly Button's fault. He deserves it and the so do team.

The only disappointment for me is Rubens Barrichello. How much bad luck can a driver have over his entire F1 career? The man is great - brilliant driver and a nice friendly guy, so I hope he can have a good season with whichever team he lands next season

Everyone within the Brawn GP team deserves a medal and a huge pat on the back.

sportzaphrenic wrote:
@29 Yes, Hamilton is exciting and often close to the edge, but I have to say I admire Jenson Button's style more. I see far more beauty in Jenson's smooth style than I do in Hamilton's ragged edge approach. I know who I'd prefer to replicate. Also, Button was king of the over-takers this year and if you don't believe that then you clearly weren't watching the races.

----------------------------------------

most the great champions have a ragged approach!there aggressive and go for it in every race because they wanna win every race!
hamiltons style is alot more exciting,for me he is definatly a better driver!some say alonso is the best driver in f1 and lewis matched him in the same car!a rookie against a 2 times world champion with alot more experience,and if it wernt for that gearbox problem in the final race and some unfair penaltys he would have won the championship in his first season!also lewis in his first 2 seasons from start to finish had stiff competition!the ferrari cars were just as good,some say better if you look at the stats,whereas jenson and rubens had by far the best cars,so it was easy for them to come first and second all the time,but s soon as the other cars caught up,he didnt win another race.
the other teams will not be behind in development this time,so brawn will not get a head start,so jenson will not win another championship.

The "Brawn GP 001" will now be known as one of the classic cars raced in F1 amongst the great Mclaren, Williams and Ferrari cars that have raced and dominated their seasons.

On the face of it both Vettel and Hamilton , who both drove brilliantly, actually were more spectacular than Button but then, one had nothing to lose and the other was finished if he did not win.
--------

Indeed Vettel and Hamilton were equally as impressive, in fact fro a drive standpoint it was one of the ebst races I've ever seen.

Webber did everything anyone could have asked of him, keeping pace with Barricello and then putting ion some moster laps to get ahead and then proceed to drive away, made no errors, superb drive.

Kubica was immense, he and the team took a risk in going more dry-weather in terms of setup on Saturday and his excellence in qualifying made it pay off on race day.

Hamilton drove fantastically well and attacked at every oppertunity, the way he responded to the unexpected change in tactics with the safety car pitstop was the sign of a truly great driver able to seize an oppertunity that comes his way. Of course he had nothing to lose in terms of a championship (though anyone who believes finishing above Raikkonnen in the Ferrari doesn't matter to him are simply wrong) but remember he pushed too hard last time out and it cost him. Many would have hung back a bit under those circumstances.

Vettel did an equally stellar job with a faster car and better strategy than Button but it was still down to him putting in a great drive to get himself into 4th.

Button of course himself was excellent, yes they were rookies he passed and yes they were slower cars but he HAD to get past them to make his strategy work, had he waited until the pitstops to get them he would have been looking at 8th instead of 5th as a result.

I am happy for Jason, specially since he kicked Hamilton on the teeth (since he only won with Glock's help).

He really fought his way in with a bit of luck at the beginning that he was standing on the right side of the interpretation of the rules; and at the end magically held his cool to not lose a championship that he had won by midseason already.

But anyway, the joy is all over because next season it's all back to a level start and people like Alonso, Massa and hopefully Kubica and Hamilton will prove what you need to be a real world champion.

And just to be clear, I am a fan of Alonso, hate Ferrari to the core and will have very mixed feelings next year I guess.

For me it was Jensens first lap overtakes at the start of the season that won it for him. How many times did we see Vettel stuck behind a KERS car that Jensen got by in a ballsy overtake?

Getting through the season with only three chassis for the team and with Jensen only failing to finish one race through no fault of his own shows what a fantastic season it really was.

My only concern for next year is the continual problem he has with getting heat into the tyres. While this will stand him in good stead with the races due to the much heavier weight of the cars next year he's going to have to find a way round it in low-fuel trim for quali.

Congratulations to Brawn and the team, it was an amazing effort with the resources and time they had.
Ross Brawn is a genius, and it showed.
If it wasn't for Ross ingeniously coming up with that chassis design incorporating the double level defuser, I'm not so sure Jenson would be standing as world champion just now.
Good on the guy though, a champion is made over 17 races and he's proved that with the package he had, he was the best out there.
I can't wait to see the start of next season now, Ferrari, McLaren, Brawn and Red Bull have no excuses, they have all been taught a lesson this year that not looking ahead and planning can destroy a championship.
I do feel that if Ferrari and McLaren had been better prepared that they would probably have been very very close to the Brawns for the title.
Can Jenson repeat the feat next year, my heart says 'Yes', my head says 'No'. I can see the title going back to either Alonso in the new Ferrari or Hamilton next year.

@29...quadrantforce, you exhibit all the petty traits of someone who can't take pleasure in success; someone who is churlish rather than charitable.
We have back to back world champions in F1 for the first time ever, and Jenson has been around a long time, nine years, waiting for his day in the sun. His championship wasn't gifted to him, his team nearly went bang and now we know just how much the car was a 'knife and fork' job, it makes the individual success he has achieved all the more remarkable.
In belittling Jenson's success, you belittle the achievements of an entire team in Brackley and their partners beyond. Did you stop to think about the 270 or so loyal team members who had to leave just so the car gould make the grid at all while you were sticking the knife in?
No...I bet you didn't, and I'll wager you were cheering Jenson on in the early part of the season to boot.
Go away.

f1fantic wrote :

Can't wait for 2010- ALONSO, BUTTON, HAMILTON fighting out for the championship
.....................................................................................

Button's championship is due to an outrageous set of circumstances alligning together, along with a little skill. I very much doubt he will be in that august company come 2010.

Where will everybody be in 2010? @45@ If Button has the right car, he might win it. Button deserved to win it. What the driver's line up anybody?

I'm extremely happy for Jenson. I've always liked his style both as a driver and a gentleman. He once stopped and allowed me to cross the road on a busy dual-carriageway! He drove like a champ and deserved the crown.

But there are two whopping elephants in the bedroom here. First, the Honda thing. Yes they pulled out. So Brawn got their engines from Mercedes (the reigning engine champions), and lo and behold the car was miles faster. In other words, I think it is extremely doubtful that the Brawn would have been as competitive with a Honda engine. So Honda didn't a make a boo-boo here, they just faced reality. Congrats to them for a graceful exit.

Secondly, the Brawns, Red Bulls and Toyotas - middle-order cars last two seasons - all ran at the beginning of the season with an aero set-up - including the rear diffuser - that other teams considered to be illegal. Some have speculated that if McLaren had run the same set-up it would not have been allowed. Some have speculated that FOAL and the FIA took a lenient view towards those teams because they knew that being lenient would shake up the grid, and believed that would be good for the sport.

The results from this season have proved them right. A very exciting championship run-in. A change from the established order. Increased TV viewing figures.

Every year F1 has rule tweaks. Some teams gain advantages. This year was Brawn's turn, and Jenson's. Good luck to them.

Jenson will have his work cut out next season though. Another change of rules, another roll of the dice.

To be honest, Button won this year due to the fact that most of the other teams were struggling to put out a good car at the start of the season. Now that everyone else has adapted to the new rules, I don't see anyone other than McLaren and Lewis winning the title.

@48

Red Bull did not start the season with the controversial rear diffuser. Like McLaren & Ferrari and all the rest, they had to build one from scratch and redesign the car once the ruling had been made after those first few races.

Other than that, Congratulations to Jenson and The Brawn Team. Brazil was the best race of the year, regardless of whether Jenson would have won the Championship there. Lots of incident and great overtaking / defending.

Most of those posting here are delusional. First, Button is clearly the worst of Britain's ten champions. Second, the only reason he won is that his car was miles ahead of the others because FIA were determined to give the small teams an advantage. Third, next year Button will be back to his usual mediocrity and focusing his attentions on pretty girls and nice yachts. What a travesty!

REF 34
I know Toyota are desperate to sign a stellar driver and it could be that Raikkonen goes there - He'll definitely be number 1 driver for the team...
I hope not, however, as he's the only one available on the grid who can deal with Hamilton GP.

Nice to see Kovalainen, on his way out at McLaren, having his planned welcoming gesture for Raikkonen in the pit lane - pity the spray wasn't champagne.....

Kovalainen - it has been a poisoned chalice for you driving for Hamilton GP. Keke has wisely advised his son not to touch the McLaren seat and go instead to Brawn. Pack your bags and get out of there...find yourself in another team - you MASSIVELY underacheived - you are far better than results show...

I think the team should have been called Phenoix (Rising from the ashes)
I am a barrichello fan; he is the unluckiest driver ever.
Still, Well done Jenson!

cordas says Ross Brawn for Sports Personality of the year. I second that!!

I disagree with no. 51, button just didn't have the right cars for the job!
He could have won the championship 4 times!
Next year button will be thinking "I'm the world champion!"

numbers 48 and 50:

Red Bull went to the double-diffuser in Turkey, but had to change the suspension to suit it. The new suspension was ready for Silverstone.

Well, I think the main story is.... how long is Nicole "Pussycat Dolls" going to stick with Lewis "ex-world champion" Hamilton?? I give it one more season, just enough time to see if he'll win it again, otherwise my money is on her moving on. Perhaps to Button.

Brawn has done an incredible job, particularly in stealing a march on almost all his rivals re the diffuser, but lets not be blinded by patriotism and a sudden love of Jenson. He is nothing more than a better than average driver that was handed the world title because his car was initially not just miles better than everyone elses car, but critically was using a piece of technology that the majority of teams were not using, and more importantly thought was illegal. Once all the teams had the same interpretation of the technical guidelines, Jenson became just a better than average driver again who beat his popular, talented and yet ageing team mate when he was well past his best. Oh and a car operating to a perceived different set of rules is not the same as a team that has just developed their car better and of course the latter has always been the case.

One final point, I cannot believe people are even suggesting Button is a better driver than Hamilton. This is madness, and is one reason I wish he hadnt won the title this year. If Button truly is that good then watch him move to one of the top teams...exactly it wont happen.

Oh well we have to put up with the play boy under achiever being able to bang on about world champion forever more, and listen to him saying this justifies the way he wasted his career to date. Schuey, Alonso, Hamilton..Button..spot the odd one out.

Roll on next year when true talent will again be reflected, but once again well done Ross - you are a genius

@29

As someone who races regularly I can guarantee you one thing - the smooth consistent driver beats the guy sawing at the wheel, and getting all scandinavian through corners, every time.

It's simple really, if you're on the ragged edge, as you like to put it, then you are at the limits of your ability AND the ability of the car to compensate for your flaws. Contrast that with the guy who sets his lines up better, read the conditions, surface, tyres and competition better and he is more in control than you.

Apart from anything else, if he has more control over his car than you do over yours then he will have more momentum, more entry and exit speed and ultimately will travel LESS distance than you. In the scientific world of F1 those fractional differences on any given lap can add up to the difference between a world championship and being an also ran.

Last week I raced (karts by the way) against some F2, Formula Ford and Porsche Cup guys and finished mid-pack. I had the advantage of knowing the track like the back of my hand so was able to get into a good place early in the race and defend my position against inexperienced racers who were lightning quick but not very good at setting up overtakes. After the race I spoke to one of the Porsche guys because he's bigger than me but was pulling away out of a particular corner that I was piling into, stamping on the brakes and throwing the kart through the corner - he gave me a little tip and I've found another 2 tenths of a second a lap . . . that's about one and half times the length of my kart. The difference ??? About 3 inches of track position and breaking earlier . . . .

My comment was on @47@ was meant to be for @46@ not for @45@. Raikkonen would go to Toyota, Would anybody like to comment on my comment @34@ please feel free. Brawn did very well this season. Honda must feel really gutted.

Andrew - a documentary on Ross Brawn is in order, I think :-D

To be honest, BBC are really making a huge deal out of Button winning world title. The fact that there are only 68 comments compared to 223 in alonso's switch to Ferrari says it all. Nobody cares!!! I understand hamilton's as he is only 23 and can realistically win next year, but come on.... get real. This is unfair pressure by British media on Button.

Good job Jenson Button and the Brawn Team.

#51 and your ilk, you are the delusional ones.

Your gripping would be mildly amusing if it were not so tragically pathetic.

ross going to honda was in his words a challange
ross made his car with the rules nothing in the rules say you carnt have a double diffuser and good on him too thats why top teams wanted him to build there cars
so what if ferrari and mclaren were slow off the mark thats there fault they pay there men top dollar but they to were playing round with the idea but bottled it and played safe.
dont knock ross hes clever shrude and damm good at his job thats why he got the backing and merc give him the engines thats why honda wanted him
only one other guy in pit lane is as good or better than ross and thats adrian newey
thats why next season will be good brawn will be rite up there and so to will red bull only thing stopping brawn isnt the cars pace ect it will be the drivers early on this season jenson was good but when other teams made there changes he was left behind rubans who just got on with it so next year hes gonna have to be more consistant and stop his lame excuses
but fair play were its due he did it and so did ross and the whole team deserve all the credit they get

@52
Raikkonen to Toyota!?
I've never heard of that rumor!
Raikkonen will go back to McLaren, leaving Kovalainen out in the cold.
There's a video on it somewhere (narrator is Jonathan Legard)
Still, I can't quite lay my finger on why raikkonen would go to Toyota.

'Honda's decision to quit F1 last December following two years of poor results looks in hindsight like one of the worst calls in sporting history.'

Utter nonsense. If it still had a Honda engine it would have been last as usual!

And this thing about how good is Button is getting boring. Mark Hughes has written an excellent piece analysing his skills in detail, and is spot on the money. Give Jenson a near-perfect car, and he will drive a near-perfect race. Give him less, and he's only so-so.

No, he's not a great driver, or the best on the grid, partly because he isn't versatile enough and doesn't seem very good at setting a car up. But he's comparable to many other Champions who had decent basic skill and a lucky year when he got the best car and less-than-great team-mate. Bit like Damon Hill actually.

And the guy won it with a classy drive - good luck to him.

@51 & 55

After the German Grand Prix, Brawn said they'll sacrifice 2010 for 2009. But now the team don't have to focus on Abu Dhabi, they could start the work on the car early. 15th next year?

I don't recall the same amount of hype and adoration for Lewis Hamilton last year. I wonder why?? I don't want to say it!! As a driver give me Hamilton any day.

@karl2878:

Ross Brawn is the team boss, while Adrian Newey is a designer. If you want to do a comparison, it should be with Christian Horner.

As Benson's "inside source" at Bran said, its incredible because the same bunch of guys that designed last season's dog of a Honda, were responsible for this year's BGP001.

Ross's skills are in organisation and man-management (and probably race strategy too). Thats what made the difference.


Nit-picking over. Congrats to Jenson, Ross, everyone in the team and those who were unlucky enough to be let go when they were forced to downsize. You all made it happen and all deserve a share of the glory.

With the finish of the season Brawn had I can't see them getting another world championship next year. Although its early days and obviously KERS is being removed, I can't see both McLaren and Ferrari struggling like they have this year. Also Red Bull and Toyota have closed the gap and they will be in the mix. Add also that Raikkonen will be joining McLaren and Alonso joining Ferrari I expect to see them fighting it out next season. Well done for the WDC Jenson but I can't see a repeat next year.

@45...tiggerthefox:
Nope, have never supported Jenson because I am a fan of the sport, as a spectator (and occassional poor racer), and he is just an above-average driver.

It is not churlish to express opinions on what I find entetaining. I am not denegrating Brawn's achievement as a team; quite the opposite, to elavate a driver the likes of Jenson to world champion magnifies their achievements even moreso.

And before you get all holier-than-thou, think on this; F1 is a sport for fans. Without fans, the sport dies a death - so as they say, the customer is always right; and the vast majority of customers of F1 want exciting racing, surely you cannot deny that and neither can you deny that Jenson is simply not an exciting driver when compared (in this age) with the likes of Hamilton.

If you want to turn it into a technical geek-fest where we all admire subtle elements of boring driving styles, then you can rename the sport french bowls and be done with it.


@59....DaddyRich:
I do appreciate what you are saying on driving style, I have done the racing thing for a while, both building my own car then dancing it (albeit very poorly!) on a few local tracks, however perhaps you misunderstand me......to really make my point is very easy: I am comparing the driving style of Hamilton-esque drivers with Jenson-esque ones.

You can't honestly tell me - with the skill he has exhibited thus far in a short career - that Hamilton's driving style is poor and lacks accuracy? It's dancing on that fine line between maximising grip and speed (as I'm sure you are well aware, the friction coefficient-slip curve reaches maximum grip just before the tyres lose grip completely, same principal behind a stretched elastic band having most "bounce" just before it snaps) and making driving exciting to watch as a spectator.

Jenson just doesn't have the requisite skill. Do you honestly think he would still be champion if Lewis had today's car for the whole season instead of just over a third of it?

@58 - Absolutely spot on!

Sir Button, why not give him a Knighthood. Stick him in a similar car to Hamilton's and he will do Alonso.

#58 Schuey, Alonso, Hamilton..Button..spot the odd one out.


Schuey, cheat- runs into cars, parks them in qualifying etc etc
Alonso, poor loser - throws teddies out of cot when there is a faster driver in his team
Hamilton, cheat - tells lies to get another driver into trouble. Ask Trulli why he was overtaken when yellow flags are waved

That leaves Button

Case proven m'lud

Congratulations on Button and Brawn (B&B) winning this season, a terrific performance considering where they came from. Mr Brawen has proven himself to be the best in the business, what experiences he must have gained when guiding Schumi and Ferrari to several titles, now he can reap the fruits of his talents. Currently, I can't really see anyone bettering the car next season. But there is a driver on JB's tail who will give him a real challenge: Don't be too surprised to see Vettel (pronounced "fettle") becoming champion next year, I reckon he's got even more talent than Button, is probably in the same league as Ayrton Senna, bless him. If Brawn has any more guile, he should sign him now (and replace poor Rubens). Now that would be a hell of a competition next year between JB and SV!
Well done all.

at 69
ross is a man with many tallents and after almost 30 years in motorsports he is and has done more than you think look him up on wikipedia then tell me what he is or isnt
he is a man all top teams want worth his weight in gold

I'm lost as to why people are so with or against other people's views on Jenson. I support West Ham. Are they the best team in the league? Maybe not ;-) Do I care? Nope. It's a matter of image. Some people need 'their' team to win all the time, others support something because they just feel an association with what they perceive it stands for.

Jenson stands for somebody with some talent but not too much, who is personnable, friendly, and doesn't take anything too seriously. No sin in that, and if somebody like that wins once in a while it's great for all of us other lightly-talented-but-lazy-oiks who go through life with a similar attitude! What would the world be like if only the Michael Schumachers among us won all the time? OK they generally do, but thank god not always!

Unluckiest driver ever? Surely that must be Ayrton Senna. Think about it.

brawn23gp

Hey there - It's been mentioned by Toyota that they are talking with Raikkonen's agent on the matter. It's about money and it's about how good Kimi thinks the Toyotas will be next season. Toyota need Kimi more than Kimi needs Toyota - that's for sure.
For us watching,however, it has to be McLaren.

#77 - Nope, Roland Ratzenberger.

Nobody even remembers him.

@65, you haven't heard about Kimi and Toyota?

They talked about it during the coverage at the weekend several times and it's been all over most of the specialist F1 sites.

The BBC isn't the only source of F1 news you know!

A lot of these posts do make me chuckle. The vast majority of F1 champions have the best car for a significant proportion of their winning season and most for a lot longer than Jensen did. It doesn't mean their championships weren't deserved.

I think the blog comments are getting like 606, full to the brim of wind-up merchants.

its not new bout kimi
hes had plenty of offers from new and old teams think hes holding out for talks with mclaren there in no rush nor is he think its a done deal having weighed up what kimi has said and martin whitmarsh last comments on new driver lineup

I think Toyota will be willing to pay to get Raikkonen. It's make or break year for them; time to get wins and challenge for the title, if not they'll be gone. Raikkonen's about the only top notch driver available, so they've got to get him.

In that case, there's a spare seat at McLaren (doubt Heikki will be kept on) So assuming Rosberg goes to Brawn, how about Heikki to Williams and Rubens to be Lewis' rear-gunner at McLaren, as a sweetener from Merc for kicking him out of the Constructor-winning team?

Kobayashi will be at Toyota, just the sort of racer F1 needs, if a little too agressive at the moment. Glock will move to Renault to partner Kubica, and Williams will bring in Hulkenburg.

Any takers?

I think Kimi will bottle going up against Hamilton. At Toyota he can waltz around, earn a fortune, come home 12th and no harm done. If Lewis wipes the floor with him in identical cars - not saying he will, but no way of anyone knowing is there - Kimi will look a right plonker. Why take the risk, he's got his title and his money.

i think rubans will get snapped up by a new team wanting his expertise and know how
dont think kimi is bothered bout lewis if anything it would be the other way around as on his day with a good car under him hes top of the tree for me he dont care bout the ins and outs that goes on hes just wants to race and that could be good for lewis too

Really hope the Raikkonen-McLaren marriage becomes a reality once again. Without him in the team alongside Hamilton, I honestly believe Ferrari would have the upper hand of the two teams - with neither Massa nor Alonso likely to want to give an inch (regardless of all this 'Ferrari is different' stuff from Alonso, small body language signals in interviews tell another story!).

Raikkonen has done a sound job this season in my view, considering the equipment he has been given - there are no major driving errors sticking out in my mind for him this year, unlike 2008 when his errors in Australia, Belgium (albeit in dreadful conditions) and Singapore did nothing to aid any WC defence. Fair enough there hasn't been the same 'title' pressure but all the same, a very solid showing.

He seems to have been comparitively under the radar in terms of mainstream media coverage i.e BBC for much of this year, well at least after Eddie Jordan revised his OTT comments of thinking he should be sacked, so to have him back in a potential championship-worthy car in 2010 would surely do the sport no harm. Fingers crossed, hope it comes off.

Massively pleased for Jenson Button - went down to Wembley to watch the Race of Champions last December, shortly after Honda pulled out've F1. There I was watching a, still young, man who for the past few years had seemed to be hanging on for the car he needed, to really have a big push for the title. It really did seem an injustice that all had seemingly been pulled out from beneath his feet. All the sweeter now therefore, ten months on and the way things have panned out. Well done to the man.

Perhaps it's time for an extra 'Fifth Podium' at Interlagos...

Surely the whole Brawn GP team deserve a joint Sports Personality award. And Jenson's smooth style helped as I taught my kids to drive: "Drive smoothly around this hairpin" "Steer calmly" "Brake gently"...

Well, who would have thought it?
Jenson Button winning the World Championship...wow I really hoped that this year would be his year.
And it is.
He truely deserved it, Brawn deserved it and thanks to Red Bull and Bariichello for sending it down to the wire for a Brazil finale...maybe not winning the British GP is a good omen for the British drivers!

Eeesh. I know this sort of thing doesn't happen all that often but does the BBC really need to take a leaf out of ITV's and James Allens book, the Hamilton-mania last year was bad enough, this nation seems to go to extremes all I keep seeing is Button is the champion, like we don't already know that...

Having said that yeah he and Brawn GP deserved it after the hard work they put into keeping the team afloat, despite sacking so many people, something which I don't agree with, but let's move on and look to next year and hope that Bernies mouth stays shut (referring to his recent Ayrton Senna was good for PR comments, which the BBC seem to have overlooked with their Button-mania) and his medals system doesn't ruin the WDC.

REF 83 telnolies
"If Lewis wipes the floor with him in identical cars - not saying he will, but no way of anyone knowing is there - Kimi will look a right plonker."

Are you saying Hamilton is DelBoy and Raikkonen a bit of a Rodney?
I wonder if Hamilton and his Dad can handle the Iceman ...it'll certainly be the best partnership since Terry and June....

@82

I have already said I am a Barrichello Fan, and he will not play second fiddle to Hamilton after being "no.2"to Michael Schumacher for 6 years

@79,77 & 53(I know I wrote 53)

What I said about Barrichello, is that he is the unluckiest driver in the 2000's

@79

I agree with you. I researched Imola 1994.

@77

3 World Championships. Come on, is that unlucky?

@85

I was there at the race of Champions, knowing that Button's career was over. Unfortunately he got knocked out by Tony Fraust in the First Round!

@89 Carlonso

I won't be surprised if Kimi leaves McLaren after 2010.
Everyone here has forgotten 2007...

Kimi v Lewis v Fernando....

Button WILL NOT win next season. He'll be 15th at worst.

"89. At 03:13am on 21 Oct 2009, Carlonso wrote:

REF 83 telnolies
"If Lewis wipes the floor with him in identical cars - not saying he will, but no way of anyone knowing is there - Kimi will look a right plonker."

Are you saying Hamilton is DelBoy and Raikkonen a bit of a Rodney?
I wonder if Hamilton and his Dad can handle the Iceman ...it'll certainly be the best partnership since Terry and June...."

They won't have to. They (Lewis and his dad) have already vetoed Rosberg and Raikonnen as Lewis's partners for next season, they are reportedly looking for Heidfeld to go join their nice little family over at McLaren.

Raikonnen is going to Toyota. ;)

Oh btw Carlonso, congratulations on getting a mention on the TV coverage, how many emails/posts did you send them?

My 2010 Grid

Brawn: J Button, N Rosberg
Red Bull: S Vettel, M Webber
McLaren: L Hamilton, K Raikkonen(he won't be there for 2011 though)
Ferrari: F Massa, F Alonso
Toyota: T Glock, K Nakajima
Williams: N Hulkenburg, R Barrichello
Renault: R Kubica, R Grojean
Force India: A Sutil, V Luizzi
Toro Rosso: J Alguersuari, S Buemi
USF1: A Wurz, S Speed
Campos: P de la Rosa, J Villeneuve
Manor: B Senna, N Heidfeld
Lotus: N Piquet, L Badoer

I don't know everything that's going on in Formula 1!

having just read over the posts on this blog again i must say that ther seems to be alot of lewis lovers feeling very bitter about brawn and jenson being champs seems as tho you and others thru this season expected them to be a flash in the pan and it wont continue well ive news for you
first merc have 40%stake in your beloved mclaren team and after this season merc will have 75%stake in brawn therfore making them mercs no1 team on pit lane also the new budget regs come into play for next season so the top teams will not be able to buy themselfs into champ contention bringing an even playing field so expect brawn to be a major thorn in your side should jenson and nico have consistancy so dont be puting lewis's silver spoon back in his mouth just yet

I wanted to say GOOD ON YA BRAWN!!
I started watching F1 last year through my husbands guidance and understand SOME of it! unlike many of you on here.
I dont follow any team or driver yet, I just enjoy the sport, but one thing this season, I watched the races and many times the Brawn cars were doing well but the KERS was introduced by another driver and it left them flat! So I think next season will be far more interesting in sorting out the drivers when NO CAR has Kers!
Yes I will probably get a lot of answers that dont agree but in an innocent opinion as a newbie, I think that in the driving stakes take the Kers away and we will see what the drivers are made of.

@97

I get F1 Racing (Magazine).
In the August issue, it said
"a KERS-Equipped Brawn could have been 3 tenths faster a lap."
Brawn could have won it by Spa

Andrew, what's the classic Grand Prix for Abu Dhabi? It's 1.43 pm here on Wednesday. I can hardly wait for these classics!

REF 93
What happened in 2007 then?
I seem to remember a young vibrant precocious Spanish talent who outraced all and sundry, including a 7-time world champion who retired as a result,winning 2 world championships in the process in a team that makes tractors and clio's, and was on his way to win an unprecedented hat-trick of titles in a newly formed team called Hamilton GP... the rest is a bit hazy....{but don't worry - I'm going to wikipedia "Hamilton GP to find out more"...}LOL

REF 94

Tricky one. Toyota need and are DESPERATE for a winning driver - a driver with cudos. They are in a far worse position than BMW in terms of investment versus success. Their driver line-ups over the years haven't ignited any excitement (unless you thought Ralph was exciting, and if you did then watching cardboard mould must have been a real treat).
They admitted on missing out on Kubica, so Kimi would appear to be the only logical choice left.... however,

Why didn't Toyota go knocking on Barrichello's door? He's been driving one of the best cars this season, proven that he can win with it and has all the years of experience and technical know-how behind him. He is 'fresh' from that winning experience, has the confidence, charisma and likeability to forge a strong unit in any team, has years of working with the best ie. Ross Brawn, under his belt...
Rubens and Glock could have worked, or even better still Rubens and the crazy Japanese rookie Kamui Kobayashi.
Williams have been shrewd to mix youth and experience in their team - I just don't see where Toyota's driver's philosophy so far has actually achieved for them.I'm not saying Rubens is THE solution, but certainly a stop-gap for a season or two for the team to get there optimum driver line-ups for the near future in order.

Kimi = McLaren.
There is synergy there and I'm sure every NEUTRAL F1 fan in the world would want to see a Hamilton/Raikkonen partnership at Hamilton GP;)
It'll give toys and prams a new dimension... and Kimi's Toys will be bigger and harder...

Murray is Legend - Totally and Utterly Irreplaceable. As much as we're discussing driver line-ups,can the BBC confirm that Murray Walker has re-signed for next season?
The BBC, the Sport, will be far far poorer without him if they don't...scandalous!

@57
Well, I think the main story is.... how long is Nicole "Pussycat Dolls" going to stick with Lewis "ex-world champion" Hamilton?? I give it one more season, just enough time to see if he'll win it again, otherwise my money is on her moving on. Perhaps to Button.
----------------
I really couldn't care less about Lewis Hamilton's love life, but please don't get Jenson Button's mixed up with it. Jessica Michibata should be involved with Formula 1 for much longer - perhaps for ever?