(Motorsport-Total.com) – This weekend, Jenson Button once again had the honor of driving his 2009 World Champion Brawn. At the 83rd Goodwood Members’ Meeting, all three chassis of the team were united in one place for the first time since the title season.
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Button drove the BGP 001 on the circuit located in West Sussex, not on the equally illustrious Hillclimb track. This is only used for the so-called Goodwood Festival of Speed.
Button, who has since retired as an active racing driver, expressed extreme satisfaction in the interview after his appearance.
“It’s crazy how fast these things are! You forget it. I mean, I arrive at the corners and think: ‘Oh, I’ll just brake where I braked with the E-Type’. But here you can do it so much later, and sometimes you don’t even have to brake! I don’t know what speed we reached on the back straight, but it was fast.”
Button last had the chance to drive his championship car in 2019. At that time, the 15-time Grand Prix winner had filmed a feature for Sky Sports in Silverstone.
“You know, I think people forget how special these cars were. The size, the weight, the sound, truly spectacular! And there’s no better place to drive and showcase [this car] than here at Goodwood,” said Button.
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2009 – A Turning Point in Formula 1
2009 marked a radical turning point for Formula 1. Where in 2008 cars were still jetting across half the globe with grooved tires and horrendously complex wing monsters, the cars for 2009 were significantly adapted. The return of slicks, the revised chassis regulations, and the debut of KERS provided plenty of discussion then as now.
But not only the cars themselves, but especially the story surrounding the Brawn team has now become part of Formula 1 history.
The underdog story of the team, once closed as Honda, through its resale to Ross Brawn for a symbolic pound, all the way to winning the title in Interlagos, was even immortalized for Hulu by Hollywood star and motorsport fan Keanu Reeves.
In the end, eight victories, 15 podium finishes, five pole positions, a drivers’ title, and a constructors’ world championship were recorded. In November 2009, the team was sold to Mercedes. To this day, the Brackley-based team belongs to the automotive group from Stuttgart.
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