The Brawn GP F1 Car That Jenson Button Sued For Is Going To Auction
Winning the FIA Formula One World Championship would be the zenith of any racing driver's career. Occasionally, an F1 team will gift a car used during the title-winning season to its champion as a gesture of thanks. The Brawn BGP 001, given to Jenson Button after his 2009 championship, is going up for auction at the Miami Grand Prix this May. Besides the unlikely Cinderella title run, the British driver had to sue the team for his contractually obligated gift.
Bonhams is auctioning off Chassis 001/01 during the South Florida F1 event. During the 2009 season, Button's teammate Rubens Barrichello drove the car to four podium finishes but never won a race before swapping to Chassis 001/03.
For those unfamiliar, Brawn GP sprouted from the ashes of Honda's shuttered factory F1 team. The Japanese manufacturer sold the team to technical director Ross Brawn and team CEO Nick Fry for a single British pound coin in 2008. Before Honda's withdrawal, the team effectively threw away the season to develop its 2009 challenger. Brawn entered the next season with a paradigm-shifting chassis and a competitive customer Mercedes engine fitted under the cover.
Button would go on to win six of the first seven races, but he wouldn't win again in 2009. The FIA declared Brawn's controversial and game-breaking double-diffuser legal, and the other front-running teams mirrored the design. Brawn, with minimal resources, just couldn't keep pace in the development race. However, the points lead was large enough for Brawn and Button to hold off an ascending Red Bull Racing and wunderkind Sebastian Vettel. Louis Frankel, Bonhams Miami Head of Sale, said:
'This car represents the ultimate Formula 1 fairy tale – a revolutionary design that redefined what was possible. Chassis 001/01 is a piece of motorsport history, and its offering at auction is sure to captivate collectors worldwide. We are honored to present this unrepeatable opportunity over the Miami Grand Prix, a stage befitting its legendary status.'
The fairy tale ended quickly, with Mercedes purchasing the team and Button departing for McLaren ahead of the 2010 season. Button had to file a lawsuit against the team to get his gift car, according to Autocar. Despite it being explicitly stated in Button's contract, Brawn didn't want to hand any chassis over to the world champion. The team stated that it could afford to do so because of the limited number of cars built for the title campaign.
Once Mercedes took over, the German automaker offered to build a BGP 001 replica for Button. He rejected the offer, desiring a chassis he raced. The Barrichello-driven car was a compromise that both sides accepted. Button held on to the Brawn BGP 001 until last year, when it was sold to a private owner, according to Motor Sport. Despite the rocky epilogue, Brawn GP will be forever known for the against-all-odds championship victory that Formula 1 actively works to prevent.
For the latest news, Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Miami Herald
30 minutes ago
- Miami Herald
I Bought a 30-Year-Old Land Rover. Worth The Headache?
2025.05.29. Vancouver Island, British Columbia. A few months ago, I decided to purchase a 30-year-old Land Rover entirely on a whim. Previously owned by a neighbor, who was the second owner, and then by another one of our neighbors, who originally purchased it in Scottsdale, Arizona, I had caught glimpses of this beautiful truck over many years. Suddenly, on a sunny day in March, as I was walking my dogs down the street, I noticed it parked tidily on the street side with an old-school "for sale" sign in the window. Shocked that the truck I had lustfully ogled and unhealthily fantasized about for years was available for sale–and that I just barely possessed the necessary funds to have it for myself–I called up the listed number, introduced myself as his neighbour, and politely requested a meeting, trying my best to mask my irrational excitement over the phone. I took a look at the truck the very next day and finalized its purchase the day after that. After what I now remember as a two-day mental blackout, where I was blinded by the carnal urge to own this big green box that had somehow pierced through my sense of reason, right through to my feeble heart, I actually had this barely running old Land Rover sitting in my driveway. As I sat, watching it leak oil all over the pavement, furiously stroking my beard, I anxiously pondered what in the world I was even going to do with it. Admittedly, I probably should have done a bit more research before I shook hands with the kind, retired gentleman down the street and accepted the keys to his Coniston Green 1995 Land Rover Discovery as if I had nobly taken on a quest he had failed to accomplish. When I had "test-driven" the truck the day prior, I wasn't even allowed to drive it myself, and after just two minutes of driving, the throttle decided to stop working properly, and we had to gently limp it home. As far as I was concerned, the most important boxes of my car-buying criteria had been ticked: it had been optioned without sunroofs, meaning no mysterious drips on my forehead during rainstorms, the interior's condition looked as if it were brand new, it had a clear history report, and in the trunk sat an intricately filed stack of laminated maintenance records. I had owned Jaguars, Mercedes-Benzes, Audis, and even BMWs of a similar vintage in the past and always found that, despite what people might tell you online, the British ones are usually the most well-maintained and are therefore far more reliable than their German counterparts. Thus, a seemingly minor problem with the throttle and some cosmetic blemishes didn't scare me off so easily. Having eventually completed a deep dive online and joined various Land Rover ownership groups on Facebook, I was both extremely nervous about the potential headaches the truck might bring and excited by just how passionate Land Rover owners are about their rigs. The general consensus seemed to be that I had certainly signed myself up for a few traumatizing migraines, but with the caveat that, so long as I deal with mechanical problems preventively or head-on rather than neglecting them and allowing them to worsen, the ownership experience would be indescribably rewarding. Firstly, though, my Discovery would have to be drivable. Untrusting of my own mechanical competence, I decided it best to have a professional deal with the elephant in the room: the throttle problem. I had previously concocted my own baseless theories for why it could be acting up, such as a filthy throttle position sensor or a faulty fuel system, and considered repairing these elements myself, only to later be relieved by the knowledge that none of these things were at the root of the issue, and that I was right to contact a mechanic that was familiar with these sorts of vehicles. Being picky about whom I let work on my cars, I had sent the Discovery to a local Euro specialist shop that had done work on my girlfriend's 2010 Mazda6 and a 2001 Mercedes-Benz ML430 I once owned. More importantly, the shop's facade parking spots boasted a dark green early-90s Acura NSX, a bright red Ferrari 348 TS, a green long-wheelbase BMW E38 7-Series, and a Dakar-like Porsche 944 with a lift kit, roof racks, and a Rothmans livery. I knew these had to be the right guys for the job, and I was right. Just $1,200 (CAD) later, the drive belt, its tensioner, and a roller had been replaced, along with a rotten valve cover gasket, which had caused the puddle of oil on my driveway. For what seemed like a lot less money than I was expecting to have to cough up, the Series I Land Rover Discovery was running brilliantly, with no warning lights, misfires, or scary noises to dampen the richly ambient experience of piloting such a passionately crafted machine. After a two-day trip over to the mainland to visit a longtime buddy who had opened his very own automotive detailing shop and a tip that reflected my immense gratitude, the feeling of sitting behind the wheel began to send fizzy chills all over my body. Those fizzy chills. That's when I got it. That's when I finally understood why Land Rover guys don't get offended when Toyota guys spew their rhetoric about how poorly built and unreliable the Land Cruiser's British counterparts tend to be. In that moment, I was reminded of the thrill of hitting a twisty coastal backroad in my ND2 Mazda MX-5, the exhilaration of slamming an upshift in the Jaguar F-Pace SVR, and the overly-confident aura of cruising by the beaches of Vancouver in my old 2001 Jaguar XJ8. It wasn't because of the speed, the acceleration, and certainly not because of its razor-sharp handling. Instead, the Land Rover won me over because my enjoyment stemmed directly from the culmination of factors that it took to get to that point. Even though the headlights don't shut off when the rest of the car does, and this problem is somehow solved by unplugging only the passenger side bulb, and even though the rear suspension is suspiciously clunky, and even though it chugs its way through fuel almost as rapidly as the six-speed manual, 5.0-liter V10-powered BMW E60 M5 I drove the other week, the Discovery steals my heart every time I take it for a drive or, even more so, on an adventure. After everything had been said and done, and the car was finally in solid running order, I embarked on a Mother's Day road trip on a nearby island by the name of Saltspring, where we ate good food, hiked steep mountains, and tasted crisp wine and fine cider. More importantly, I got to open up the taps on the Discovery on some remote and curvy roads, where I quickly learned that its 182 horsepower and 232 lb-ft of torque are more than ample figures to have some good old-fashioned backroad fun, and that despite its body-on-frame chassis, its full-time four-wheel drive system, and weighing over 4,300 lbs., it could handle the hairpins surprisingly well with gentle steering input and enough foresight to accurately anticipate the sharpness of each impending corner. The Series I Discovery truly does a solid job of balancing sport and utility, even when it's 30 years old, so long as it's been taken care of properly. Alright, sure, you can pretty much neglect a Toyota Land Cruiser entirely and it'll probably still start up and drive across entire continents without putting up a fuss, but if you can accept the fact that you'll have to put in either a good bit of hard work or a solid chunk of hard-earned cash every once in a while to keep everything in proper order, the Land Rover is a more enjoyable truck to spend your time in. It's difficult to pinpoint exactly what makes a Land Rover so much more satisfying to operate. Perhaps it, too, is a rewarding experience based entirely on the culmination of so many things coming together, like the distinct aroma of its finely aged leather upholstery, the original factory cassette player that still works and which has prompted me to start collecting old tapes instead of just putting my Spotify on shuffle, the surprisingly raucous rumble of its fuel-injected 3.9-liter Rover V8, or the way you can't stop staring at it even after you've parked at home and everyone else has already gone inside. Whatever it may be, the inimitability of a Land Rover's charismatic grace, elegant sense of style, unmatched road presence, and its ability to drive you absolutely madly insane over the most obscure electrical problems that randomly seem to mend themselves if you just pretend you didn't notice at first, all come together to provide not just a driving experience, but an ownership experience that isn't just rewarding–it sticks with you forever. And, well, isn't that what life's all about? A Toyota Land Cruiser might get you where you need to go every time, but a genuine Land Rover–the true O.G. that Toyota aspires to replicate in all aspects including nomenclature–will make sure that the whole journey towards your destination is deeply imprinted into your memory, whether through the lens of elegant bliss or traumatic mechanical nightmare, but nonetheless unforgettable. When I speak to Toyota off-roader owners, their passion for their trucks lies in their dependability and consistent functionality. On the contrary, Land Rover owners speak of their breakdowns and disasters with words of endearment, claiming that with each problem that arises, a solution prevails which brings man ever closer to machine, and the bond formed between a Land Rover and its owner, over time, thus becomes increasingly unbreakable. So, I could have spent three times as much money and had a Toyota Land Cruiser of the same year in similar condition, but would it really offer me three times as much car? Truly, I don't believe so. Not only has my Series I Land Rover Discovery's iconic fusion of reliability, drivability, and functionality stolen my heart, but it has also forced me to ask why Toyota Land Cruisers seem to command such a massive premium over more overlooked alternatives from Land Rover and Jeep of similar vintage. How much of that inflated value is simply a result of pedantic internet comments and misinformed anecdotes? Who knows, but regardless, my 30-year-old Land Rover has undoubtedly brightened up my life in the somewhat short time that I've owned it. For not a whole lot of money, it's taught me the true value of experiencing memorable journeys in life, and it's allowed me to better understand the importance of disciplined maintenance–a tenet that I take with me into all aspects of my life, from health and fitness to work and study. If you're someone who wants your life to be more than just a walk in the park, don't be afraid to buy that old off-roader on Facebook Marketplace that caught your eye and you can't seem to stop thinking about. Like a well-aged Islay Scotch whisky, my 1995 Land Rover Discovery might be overwhelmingly smoky and difficult to stomach, but once you've developed a palate for peatiness, there's nothing else out there that satisfies your tastebuds quite as effectively. Copyright 2025 The Arena Group, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
Yahoo
an hour ago
- Yahoo
AP PHOTOS: David Beckham to be awarded a knighthood by King Charles
London, ENGLAND (AP) — David Beckham, the former England soccer captain who has been an ambassador for the U.N. children's fund for two decades, is to receive a knighthood in next week's honors list from King Charles III, according to U.K. media reports Friday. Without citing sources, the BBC said Beckham is set to receive further recognition both for his soccer career, and his contributions to British society. ____ This is a photo gallery curated by AP photo editors.
Yahoo
2 hours ago
- Yahoo
Why Victoria Beckham Will Soon Become Lady Beckham
After 14 years of waiting, David Beckham is set to receive a knighthood from King Charles in the King's birthday honors list. As a result, the soccer legend's wife, Victoria, will be known as Lady Beckham going forward. Both Beckhams have long had an affinity for the royal family, attending both Prince William and Kate Middleton's royal wedding in 2011 and Prince Harry and Meghan Markle's royal wedding in his growing friendship with King Charles, David Beckham is set to receive a knighthood in the King's latest birthday honors list—thereby making David's wife, Victoria, Lady Beckham. After first being nominated for knighthood in 2011 (according to People), it seems it's all finally happening for the soccer legend. A lifelong royalist, this isn't David's first brush with British honors—as far back as 2003, he was awarded an OBE (Order of the British Empire). In being granted a knighthood by Charles, David will be awarded for his soccer career and his contribution to British society, according to the BBC. There have been hints of David's impending knighthood over the past year—David was named an ambassador to The King's Foundation in 2024; he and Victoria attended a dinner at Highgrove, the King's country home, back in February of this year; and just last month, he was heard telling the King and Queen Camilla thank you for his 50th birthday gift. 'I'm excited to be working with The King's Foundation and to have the opportunity to help raise awareness of the charity's work,' David said in a statement at the time of his appointment. 'I've always been keen to help young people to expand their horizons, and I'm particularly looking forward to supporting the Foundation's education programs and its efforts to ensure young people have greater access to nature.' David's appointment ends 'years of speculation about whether he would be knighted,' The Telegraph reported. In addition to their other numerous appearances supporting the royal family—including David queuing for hours along with the general public to pay his respects to Queen Elizabeth after her death in 2022—David and Victoria attended a state dinner at Buckingham Palace late last year, and Kate Middleton recently (and poignantly) wore a Victoria Beckham design to an event put on by the British Fashion Council. The Beckhams' royal connections are deep enough that they attended the royal weddings of both Prince William and Kate in 2011 and Prince Harry and Meghan Markle in 2018. During an interview at the World Economic Forum, David called himself a 'huge royalist' and said (via People), 'I always get emotional talking about anything that I do with our royal family, because I've always been a huge royalist. I was brought up in a household that adored and loved everything that came with the royal family.' Read the original article on InStyle
