Brawn BGP 001

New at Silverstone Interactive Museum - see Jenson Button's 2009 World Championship winning Brawn GP 001 (on loan from Mercedes‐Benz Grand Prix Limited).

The story of the Brawn Grand Prix team has become a modern Grand Prix racing legend. In December 2008, Honda F1 announced its intention to leave the sport with immediate effect after a disappointing season. This created an uncertain future for the team’s 700 staff members and two racing drivers, Jenson Button and Rubens Barichello.

Knowing that their 2009 car was likely to be competitive, team principal Ross Brawn led a management buyout of the team and renamed them Brawn GP for the 2009 season. The car ran for the first time here at Silverstone, on the infield Stowe Circuit, three days before the last official Formula One test of the season in Barcelona.

The car was an instant success, winning six of the first seven races of the season. Results tailed off in the second half of the season, as the team did not have the budget to develop the car, but even so, they won the Constructors’ World Championship with Jenson Button winning the Drivers’ Championship.

In 2010 the team was purchased by Daimler and became the Mercedes Formula One Team.