2009 F1 Season
17 races · Brawn BGP 001
The 2009 season is probably the most romantic story in modern Formula 1. Honda pulled out of the sport in mid-winter and its team came within a whisker of vanishing, until Ross Brawn rescued it for a symbolic sum and renamed it Brawn GP.
Against all odds, that team of survivors had designed the BGP 001, a car that perfectly exploited a loophole in the new rules — the double diffuser — and proved unbeatable early on. Jenson Button seized the moment with six wins in the first seven races and then managed his advantage.
In the second half of the year, Red Bull and a young Sebastian Vettel surged, but it was too late. Button and Brawn were crowned drivers' and constructors' champions in their only season of existence, an unrepeatable feat.
Drivers' Champion
Jenson Button
Brawn BGP 001
Constructors' Champion
Brawn GP
17 races
Key moment
"The Brawn BGP 001: from a team that almost disappeared in winter to world champion."
What if 2009 had been raced 100 times?
We took the real 2009 grid — every car with its performance and reliability, every driver with his rating — and re-ran the full 17-race championship 100 times.
| Driver | Avg. finish | Titles |
|---|---|---|
| Jenson Buttonreal championBrawn GP | P1.2 | 80% |
| Sebastian VettelRed Bull | P2 | 17% |
| Rubens BarrichelloBrawn GP | P2.9 | 3% |
| Mark WebberRed Bull | P3.9 | 0% |
| Lewis HamiltonMcLaren | P5.1 | 0% |
| Fernando AlonsoRenault | P6.1 | 0% |
Jenson Button wins 80% of the simulated championships. Runner-up Sebastian Vettel manages 17%: with that machinery, the real result was very nearly the only one available.
Tags
What if Senna, Hamilton or Alonso had driven the 2009 championship-winning car?