Jenson Button Reveals Backup Plan For 2009 F1 Season: “I Would Have Bought it For a Dollar” if Ross Brawn Hadn’t Stepped in

Jenson Button Reveals Backup Plan For 2009 F1 Season: "I Would Have Bought it For a Dollar" if Ross Brawn Hadn't Stepped in

Jenson Button won the 2009 F1 world championship with Brawn GP, a team that only competed in the sport for one season before becoming the side fans today know as Mercedes. On the Missed Apex podcast, the former McLaren driver revealed his backup plan if Ross Brawn had decided not to purchase the defunct Honda Works team at the end of the 2008 season.

Honda abruptly pulled out of Formula 1 at the end of 2008. With major redundancies in store for all its employees, team principal Brawn stepped in to buy the team out for a sum of just $1.

Button and his teammate Rubens Barrichello’s careers were also on the line. With no seat for 2009, Button had his backup ready if Brawn had also pulled out of the deal. “He only bought it for a dollar. I would have bought it for a dollar – there you go!”

Brawn‘s decision to buy the team turned out to be a huge blessing for Button, who won his only title in F1 with them. After spending one year with them, he moved onto McLaren from the 2010 season onwards.

While he did enjoy sporadic success during the first four years at Woking, the team’s failed alliance with Honda in the turbo-hybrid era of the sport meant he chose to retire at the end of 2016. Had Brawn’s acquisition not materialized, Button’s racing career could have panned out very differently.

The 44-year-old, however, is still pursuing his racing career very religiously. Since his F1 retirement, Button has dabbled in NASCAR, the British GT Championship, and the IMSA Sportscar Championship. Most recently, he competed in the 2024 edition of the 24 Hours of Le Mans for the Hertz Team Jota in the LMH category.

Post Edited By: Vidit Dhawan
Brawn GP Honda Jenson Button Ross Brawn

About the author

Anirban Aly Mandal

Anirban Aly Mandal is an F1 writer at The SportsRush, with over 1000 articles under his belt, Anirban's love for F1 started when he discovered a copy of F1 2014 on his computer. With over half a decade's worth of time spent religiously following the sport, he’s dived deep into the world of motorsports. However, Anirban's expertise goes beyond just writing - he has also written several academic papers focused on the domain of motorsports and the law. His passion for the sport is so immense that he aspires to work as a legal advisor in the most prestigious racing series in the world someday. When it comes to Formula 1, Anirban finds great pleasure in re-watching classic races and idolizes the likes of Ayrton Senna, Nigel Mansell, and Sebastian Vettel. His top picks include Brazil '91, Silverstone '92, and Germany '19. Outside of the sport, Anirban is an avid sim racer, often found racing on titles like Assetto Corsa, F1 22, and Automobilista. Apart from his interests in gaming, Anirban has a keen interest in philosophy, literature and music.

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