Racing
© Jonathan Borba
Jenson Button climbed back into the Brawn BGP 001 at the Goodwood Members’ Meeting as all three chassis from Brawn GP’s 2009 title-winning season were brought together for the first time. For a car that only raced once, in one season, it was a rare full reunion with the driver who took it to the Formula 1 world championship.
The display at Goodwood centered on the complete set of BGP 001 chassis, each tied to that one extraordinary year. Chassis BGP001/02 carried the most weight in the story because it is the car Button used through his 2009 championship campaign. Chassis BGP001/01 was used mainly by Rubens Barrichello in the early part of the season, up to and including the Hungarian Grand Prix, and that car included a win at Valencia. Chassis BGP001/03 later took Barrichello to victory at Monza.
That gave the Goodwood run more than museum value. It pulled together the whole shape of Brawn GP’s short life, from the car Button drove to the two cars that helped Barrichello and the team finish the job.
The reason that still lands so strongly in Formula 1 is the team’s backstory. According to the event summaries, Ross Brawn bought the remains of Honda Racing F1 Team for £1 after Honda withdrew in December 2008 during the financial crisis. Brawn, then the former Honda team principal, rebuilt the operation under the Brawn GP name and, in its only season on the grid in 2009, the team won both the Drivers’ and Constructors’ championships. Mercedes then bought Brawn GP in November 2009, according to the summaries.
The numbers from that season explain why the car still draws a crowd. Button and Barrichello combined for eight grand prix wins, 15 podium finishes and five pole positions in 2009, according to the summaries. Button won the only drivers’ title of his F1 career, while Barrichello finished third in the standings behind Sebastian Vettel.
Before his Goodwood run, Button, the 2009 Formula 1 world champion, said in pre-event comments: “I am excited to be making my Members’ Meeting debut.” He added in the same pre-event comments: “And in no less special a car than the Brawn BGP 001. I last had a chance to drive it back in 2019, which was incredibly emotional and quite surreal. I cannot wait to experience that feeling all over again, and where better than Goodwood!”
Goodwood Road & Racing also framed the moment in those terms. In a social media post dated April 18, 2026, Goodwood Road & Racing said: “17 years ago, the #Brawn BGP 001 accomplished the impossible, as with Jenson Button behind the wheel, it claimed an #F1 World Championship in its first and only season. Today at #83MM, the driver and car were reunited for a series of scintillating laps…”
At Goodwood, that one-season team briefly came back into view in full: all three chassis, the champion who drove it, and the car that turned a £1 rescue into an F1 title.