What happened to Brawn GP after their impossible Formula 1 fairytale story?

Brawn GP's unlikely Formula 1 triumph has been retold in a new four-part Disney+ documentary, fronted by Keanu Reeves. But you might be wondering what happened to the team after their dramatic 2009 world constructors' championship win and a world drivers' title for Jenson Button.

As Brawn GP: The Impossible Formula 1 Story premieres on the streaming service, here's what happened after the chequered flag fell on the 2009 season.

What happened to Brawn GP – why did they leave Formula 1?

Well, in some ways they left, and in others, their legacy has carried on, just in a different form.

The Brawn GP name – and those minimalist white and neon yellow cars – may have only run in Formula 1 during that title-winning 2009 season. They were the first and only team to win the drivers and constructors' title in their debut season. But it was the start of something even bigger.

Ahead of the 2010 season, Mercedes bought Brawn GP – as recounted in episode one of the documentary, they had supplied the team with an engine at the last minute after Honda pulled out of the sport. The takeover marked Mercedes' return to Formula 1 as a works team.

Mercedes had already decided to leave Formula 1 in 1955, but opted to withdraw from all motorsport after an horrific accident at that year's 24 Hours of Le Mans where one of its drivers and over 80 spectators lost their lives. Following the brand's return to sportscar racing in the 1980s, it first re-entered Formula 1 as part of an engine supplier partnership with Ilmor in 1994.

The reported cost of the Brawn GP buyout was £130 million – significantly more than the symbolic pound coin Ross Brawn handed over when negotiating the management buyout of the team (and which then-managing officer of Honda Motor Co, Hiroshi Oshima, still has to this day).

With a lineup including seven-time drivers' champion Michael Schumacher and a young Nico Rosberg between 2010 and 2012, Mercedes took a little while to find success.

This can likely be attributed to Brawn lacking the same budget as their competitors to put into the development of a car for the 2010 season (the cost cap we know now only came into effect for the 2021 season).

Mercedes' first win since returning to the sport came when Nico Rosberg took his debut victory at the 2012 Chinese grand prix.

After Michael Schumacher's second retirement from Formula 1 at the end of 2012, Lewis Hamilton moved over from McLaren at the start of the 2013 season. Then, following another major regulation change in 2014 – similar to the shake-up which led to Brawn's triumph – Mercedes dominated almost the entire turbo-hybrid regulation era between 2014 and 2021.

Lewis' record-equalling run to his seventh drivers' title in 2020 was only broken by his childhood friend Nico Rosberg – who after winning the 2016 drivers' championship, immediately retired from the sport.

At the time, Nico said: "For 25 years in racing, it has been my dream, my 'one thing', to become Formula 1 world champion. Through the hard work, the pain, the sacrifices, this has been my target. And now I've made it."

Nico immediately made it clear that his retirement was permanent. He now works as a pundit for Sky, owns an Extreme E racing team, and has become an entrepreneur with a keen interest in green and sustainable tech solutions. He's even appeared as a 'lion' on Die Höhle der Löwen, the German version of Dragons' Den.

Mercedes also won every constructors' title between 2014 and 2021, but has struggled by comparison with the 2022 regulation change which has seen Red Bull and Max Verstappen dominate the series. Lewis Hamilton, of course, is still with the team he joined a decade ago, renewing his contract until the end of the 2025 season as he hopes to secure a record-breaking eighth drivers' title.

A number of Brawn GP's key players remained with Mercedes and became integral to their success. In fact, Jenson Button's engineer in the 2009 season, Andrew Shovlin (aka 'Shov'), is still a part of the team today.

Shov was promoted to become director of trackside engineering in 2011, and also worked as a race engineer for Michael Schumacher. You can often see him in explainer videos on Mercedes' social media, talking about the team's performance.

Meanwhile, Caroline McGrory, the lawyer who was part of the Brawn GP management team and instrumental to the agreement that made the team a reality, stayed with Mercedes for several years as its director of legal and commercial affairs.

She went on to become the first general counsel at Premier League football club Leicester City, then worked as chief legal officer and a senior executive for the 2022 Commonwealth Games in Birmingham. In April 2023, Caroline returned to Formula 1 as Alpine's director of legal affairs.

Brawn GP's press officer Nicola Armstrong also stayed with Mercedes, later becoming its head of corporate communications.

Rubens Barrichello's engineer Jock Clear remained with Mercedes as a race and performance engineer until 2015. He then moved to Ferrari, where he currently works as a senior performance engineer and driver coach for Charles Leclerc.

Brawn's sporting director Ron Meadows is still with Mercedes in the same role, heading up their garage operations. He's a key part of the trackside team on the pit wall.

When teams were allowed to communicate directly with the FIA during grand prix sessions, viewers could often hear Ron on the radio representing Mercedes' point of view in conversation with former race director Michael Masi.

Chief strategist during Brawn's championship-winning season, James Vowles also stayed with the team in the same role after Mercedes took over – making top-level calls on whether the team's drivers were clear to race each other for position, or whether they should hold station.

His in-race team orders over the radio to Valtteri Bottas, usually starting with the words "Valtteri, it's James", were memed from the 2018 season onwards as F1's social following grew – with Valtteri turning the catchphrase on its head in 2019 following his victory in Japan.

In 2019, James became Mercedes' motorsport strategy director, and in early 2023, he left to become team principal at Williams Racing as he wanted to seek a new challenge.

Since taking charge of the team, James has become known for his transparency about Williams' highs and lows on their social media, as they aim to get back to the sharp end of the grid.

What happened to Ross Brawn after Brawn GP's 2009 triumph?

Team principal Ross stayed with Mercedes, with Michael Schumacher personally crediting him for his decision to come out of retirement and sign for the team following their joint successes at Benetton and Ferrari.

In 2013, Ross left Mercedes and was succeeded by Toto Wolff. The following year, he shut down rumours of a move to McLaren by appearing to confirm he'd retired from motor racing.

In the next few years, Ross co-authored a book about motorsport strategy titled Total Competition: Lessons In Strategy from Formula 1, comprised of his conversations with ex-Williams CEO and chairman Adam Parr.

Following Liberty Media's acquisition of Formula 1 in 2017, Ross returned to the series in a senior leadership role, as its technical director and its first-ever managing director of motorsports.

He retired in 2022, effectively quashing rumours that he would return to Ferrari after former team principal Mattia Binotto's resignation.

What Nick Fry did next after Brawn GP

Another key part of the Brawn GP management team, its CEO Nick Fry also stayed with the organisation after Mercedes' takeover. He also decided to leave in 2013.

In 2018, Nick joined esports organisation Fnatic as its chair and head of commercial strategy. The following year, he published a book about Brawn's title-winning season titled Survive. Drive. Win. with The Times' former motor racing correspondent Ed Gorman.

As of November 2023, Nick is the non-executive chair of McLaren Applied – which, among other projects, is developing a new engine control system for Formula 1 ahead of another major regulation change in 2026.

What happened to Jenson Button after he became a Formula 1 champion?

After his 2009 title win, Jenson moved to McLaren for the 2010 season, where he joined 2008 drivers' champion Lewis Hamilton.

Jenson took an early lead in the 2010 championship after two victories, in Australia and China, at the start of the season. However, 2010 was the start of a rich run of form for Red Bull Racing, and he would not win another Formula 1 drivers' title.

Jenson's tenure at McLaren lasted for several years, but was mixed. He was runner-up to Red Bull's Sebastian Vettel in the 2011 drivers' standings, with a season highlight including his memorable win at the Canadian grand prix.

If you fancy settling in for a four-hour epic, complete with teammates colliding, drive-through penalties, numerous safety cars, a dramatic last-lap pass, and an extreme weather interlude where the commentators discuss close-ups of local wildlife, you can find it on F1 TV Access.

Jenson's last Formula 1 victory was in 2012, at the Brazilian grand prix. In 2013, he was elected as a director of the Grand Prix Drivers' Association, or GPDA, which is the closest thing to a trade union for Formula 1's drivers.

Early the following year, Jenson's beloved dad John – a former rallycross driver who had attended all but one of his son's F1 races – passed away suddenly. Jenson later confirmed he'd briefly considered taking a break from the sport in 2014 following the death of John, who he affectionately nicknamed 'Papa Smurf'.

Jenson's stint with McLaren lasted until the end of the 2016 season, although according to Sky Sports' David Croft at the time, he had considered returning to his first-ever team, Williams. Having originally made his intention to retire clear, Jenson agreed with then-McLaren CEO Ron Dennis to remain with the team as a reserve driver and ambassador during 2017 before making a firm decision.

His final F1 race was the 2017 Monaco grand prix, where he filled in for Fernando Alonso who was competing for McLaren at the Indianapolis 500 that same weekend. That same year, Jenson's autobiography Life to the Limit was first published, reflecting on his career and his close relationship with his dad.

Since retiring from Formula 1, Jenson has kept very busy both as a racing driver and team owner. In 2018, he won the highly-regarded Super GT sports car championship in Japan.

He's also made regular appearances in the FIA's World Endurance Championship, including a number of drives at the world-famous 24 Hours of Le Mans. During a recent visit to This Morning, Jenson confirmed he'll be back at Le Mans in 2024.

This year, Jenson made his NASCAR Cup Series debut – and he told OK! it was also the first time his son and daughter have seen him race in person. In 2024, his busy schedule will include a run at the prestigious 24 Hours of Daytona endurance race.

Jenson is also the founder of JBXE, which competes in the electric off-road racing series Extreme E. He remains a constant presence in and around Formula 1, both as a co-commentator and analyst for Sky Sports F1 and a special advisor and ambassador at Williams.

What happened to Rubens Barrichello after he left Brawn GP?

Prior to leaving Brawn, Rubens had actually been linked with a move to McLaren, but he'd already reached an agreement with Williams by that point and wanted to honour that. He drove with them in the 2010 and 2011 seasons, and was elected as chair of the GPDA at that time, too.

While Rubens would make history as the first-ever Formula 1 driver to start 300 grands prix, he did not claim the drivers' title he had so passionately wanted to win. In fact, he did not win another race. His final Formula 1 grand prix was a home race in Brazil in 2011, and he learned at the start of 2012 that Williams would not be renewing his contract.

Rubens made the move to IndyCar for the 2012 season, joining his old friend Tony Kanaan at KV Racing Technology. He's also competed in endurance racing, with one Le Mans start in 2017 and several 24 Hours of Daytona entries – Rubens' best finish to date there was second in 2016.

It was reported in 2014 that Rubens had been offered the opportunity to drive for the Caterham team in Formula 1, but this never happened as they went into administration and left the sport.

Rubens is a double Stock Car Pro Series champion (previously known as Stock Car Brasil), winning the title in 2014 and 2022. This season, he has the interesting challenge of defending his crown against competitors including his oldest son Eduardo (nicknamed 'Dudu') – and both are teammates, too. With two race weekends left to go, Rubens is fourth in the drivers' standings.

"I still want to do long races with my two kids – maybe Le Mans, or the whole championship," he recently told the official Formula 1 website.

"Fernando is 17, and he's racing Formula 4 in Spain, Eduardo is 21, he finished third in FRECA last year, but because of lack of budget we brought him to stock car and he won his first race. I definitely want to be racing with them while I'm still feeling competitive."

Brawn: The Impossible Formula 1 Story is now streaming on Disney+ in countries including the UK, and Hulu in the US.

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