The town of Brackley welcomed home the 2009 World Champions, Brawn GP, yesterday, less than a year after the demise of the Honda F1 Team.

It was on Friday December 5 that Honda announced its withdrawal from F1, leaving the future of the Brackley based team and its 800 plus employees very much in the balance. After a number of false starts, on Friday 6 March 2009, virtually three months to the day after Honda announced its decision, it was revealed that former Benetton and Ferrari guru Ross Brawn had bought the Brackley-based team.

With just two scheduled tests before the 2009 season got underway the team faced a monumental task. However, having dominated the timesheets at the tests the team went on to win six of the first eight races of the season, Jenson Button taking the drivers' title and Brawn making history by taking the Constructors' Championship at the first attempt.

Yesterday, Brawn GP made a triumphant return to the town out of which its predecessors - BAR and Honda - have raced since 1999.

After a an open-top bus parade through the town, and despite the fog and the early November chill, team boss Ross Brawn smiled throughout the ceremony in the town square as he thanked the Northamptonshire town for its support when things looked bleak.

"It's fair to say that I've had some very special days in my career in motor racing and this is in the top of the list," he said. "It's fantastic. I think it's just an amazing contrast we've been through this year, an amazing contrast the local community have been through.

"From the depths of despair over the winter to winning the world championship, I can't think of two greater contrasts," he continued. "From such a low to such an incredible high. It seems to be a championship that's captured the public's imagination because of the circumstances behind it. It's been a wonderful journey."

However, while Brawn and Nick Fry were present, there were a couple of notable absences, Jenson Button - the newly-crowned World Champion - and his teammate Rubens Barrichello.

While the Brazilian has headed off to join Williams for a record 18th season of F1, the future of the 2009 World Champion remains undecided. However, Brawn appeared to allay fears the Englishman is heading elsewhere when he told reporters; "I can give you 99 percent on Jenson Button staying," when asked about the chances of Button remaining with the team.

And looking ahead, without even touching on growing speculation that Mercedes is to buy a large slice of his operation, Brawn is confident that his team will be able to mount a robust defence of both titles next season. "The team have been working flat out on the 2010 car since the summer so we are in good shape for next year and we expect to be in a real battle for the title again," he warned.