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In the latter stages of the 2008 season, aware of the major changes to the regulations in 2009, and having inherited Super Aguri's aero team, headed by Ben Wood, the previous season, Brawn and his men essentially abandoned the remainder of the 2008 championship and concentrated fully on 2009.
While Ferrari and McLaren used up all their resources and time as they took the 2008 fight down to the wire, Brawn and his men were focussed fully on 2009.
The Englishman was known to push the envelope, to go to the very edge when it came to exploiting every loophole in the regulations, and therefore many believed the former Benetton and Ferrari genius would have a trick or two up his sleeve. However, just as he and his team began to tell themselves they were on to a winner, Honda made its shock announcement.
As negotiations for the buy-out continued, Brawn knew he had to find an engine supplier as Honda's withdrawal from F1 was not just as an entrant but as an engine supplier. While he was keen to secure a deal with his former employers in Italy, fitting the Maranello powerplant into the Brawn chassis simply wasn't possible and while fitting the Mercedes engine was almost just as difficult the Brackley team eventually settled on the German unit, with a little help from McLaren.
With the Mercedes deal concluded in mid-February, just a couple of weeks later Honda formally announced the Brawn buy-out.
Three days after Brawn GP officially came into existence, the BGP 01 took to the track at Barcelona with Jenson Button at the wheel. The Englishman completed a modest 82 laps, without any problems, and finished the day fourth quickest 0.802s off Nick Heidfeld's pace. By the end of the four day test, Button and his Brazilian teammate, Rubens Barrichello, were the pacesetter. The following week, at Jerez, the final pre-season test, they continued to lead the way.
As we now know, much of the Brawn's pace was down to its infamous double diffuser, a device which though not entirely within the spirit of the rules was most definitely covered by the letter of the law. Indeed, Williams and Toyota were clearly thinking along the same lines having taken full advantage of an ambiguous rule which had been in place since the mid-90s.
However, it would be wrong to say that the BGP 01's success was due entirely to the double diffuser. In choosing the Mercedes engine, Brawn had the best powerplant on the 2009 grid, however, his team had also interpreted the new regs better than anyone else, while also focussing on mechanical components, making the Brawn BGP 01 everything that the Honda RA108 wasn't.
By the teams arrived in Melbourne for the season opener, the gap to the Brawns was down to around 0.7s, however, this was still enough to secure the Brackley outfit an historic 1-2 on its debut and Button to take a championship lead he would never relinquish.
Having never tested the BGP 01 in the wet, it came as no surprise when the car proved more than a handful in China, allowing Red Bull to take a 1-2 of its own and put a temporary stop on Brawn's winning streak.
Ironically, that winning streak came to an end at Silverstone. By that time most of the teams had their own solution to the double diffuser issue while other advantages the BGP 01 had enjoyed earlier in the season also appeared to have been negated. However, at this stage in the season it was also obvious that the car had a weakness when racing in cooler temperatures, Red Bull fully exploiting the situation in Britain and Germany.
In the closing stages of the season, Brawn struggled, however, Red Bull had its own problems, mainly in terms of reliability.
A couple of mistake from Button saw Barrichello close the gap, the Brazilian taking victories at Valencia and Monza, however, it was too little too late.
With the comfort zone of those 6 victories at the very start of the season, plus a few determined drives in the latter stages, Button was able to see off the challenge from his own teammate and the Red Bull duo, taking the title in the penultimate race in Brazil.
Thus, history was made, with Brawn taking both titles at the very first attempt. However, it was more than that, in the eyes of many this was a fairytale, not just in terms of Formula One - surely the most cynical and unforgiving of sports - but for sport in general. Certainly, in terms of Spy-gate, Lie-gate and Crash-gate, it was nice to have something positive to write about.
It was soon back to reality at Brackley however. Within days of winning the titles, Nick Fry - of whom little had been heard for much of the season - was sharing his thoughts with anyone who would listen.
Barrichello, already certain he was to lose his drive to a younger man, left for Williams, while Button, who it was subsequently revealed paid his own travel expenses to most races, began his negotiations with the team. While the precise details of what was on offer and what was asked for are unclear, Button, unable to agree terms with the Brackley outfit, revealed he was in talks with McLaren.
On Wednesday 16 November, Mercedes announced it had bought a 75.1 percent stake in Brawn GP, immediately fuelling rumours that it was seeking an all-German driver line-up. Two days later, Button accepted an offer from McLaren, prompting Fry to publicly accuse the driver of "disloyalty". A week later Mercedes recruited Nico Rosberg, subsequently confirming, exactly a month later, that it had also convinced Michael Schumacher to come out of retirement.
Consequently, Brawn is no more. After one historic season the Brackley gives way to Mercedes and the return of the Silver Arrows.
Whether the British-based German team can go on to emulate the success of its pre-war counterparts remains to be seen, however, at least Brawn GP is assured of its place in the history books.
Statistics - at the end of the 2009 Season
Drivers' Titles: 1
Constructors' Titles: 1
Seasons in F1: 1
Grand Prix: 17
Wins: 8
Points: 172
Poles: 5
Fastest Laps: 4
Best result in 2009: 1st (8 times)
Best qualifying 2009: Pole - (5 times)
Worst qualifying 2009: 14th - (2 times)
2009: Button out-qualified Barrichello 7 times
2009: Barrichello out-qualified Button 10 times
2009: Completed 1921 out of 1976 laps (97.2%)
2009: Finished 32 times from 34 starts (91.4%)
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