Ross Brawn’s fortune
The Brawn team celebrates its extraordinary successes following the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, the final round of the 2009 season (photo above). For Ross Brawn’s team, the results are fantastic and unexpected: Jenson Button clinched the title at the Brazilian GP, Brawn GP secured the constructors’ championship, and Rubens Barrichello finished third in the drivers’ standings.
Brawn GP was founded end of 2008 when the Honda Racing F1 Team was taken over by Ross Brawn for a symbolic pound, after the Japanese manufacturer announced it was withdrawing from competition following the 2008 financial crisis. For the 2009 season, Honda guaranteed a budget of $100 million, and Mercedes supplied engines to Brawn as a customer.
Jenson Button won six of the first seven Grand Prix of the 2009 season and was crowned 2009 world champion (picture-below) at the Brazilian Grand Prix, while Rubens Barrichello won twice and finished third.
On November 16, 2009, barely a year after its creation, Mercedes-Benz bought the team for over £110 million and renamed it Mercedes GP for the 2010 season. The Brawn GP team lasted only one season, winning eight Grands Prix, achieving 15 podium finishes, and scoring 172 championship points—a remarkable success and a fortune for Ross Brawn. Well done.
