A contract clause landed Jenson Button a championship-winning Brawn GP car, which he’s now put up for sale.

Button won his sole Drivers’ World Championship title driving for Ross Brawn’s eponymous team in 2009, in what was perhaps one of F1’s most movie-esque storylines.

Jenson Button-owned Brawn GP up for auction

At this year’s Miami Grand Prix, auction house Bonhams will facilitate the sale of the only 2009 Brawn GP chassis to ever become available.

Chassis 001/01 will go under the hammer as one of the only three chassis made by the Brackley-based squad, 16 years on from its fairytale story in Formula 1.

In late 2008, Honda’s sudden decision to pull the plug on its factory F1 team seemed to mark the end for the midfield team, but former Ferrari team boss Ross Brawn saw clear potential in the 2009 car that had been in development for the new regulation cycle.

Famously purchasing the team for a single pound, Brawn managed to keep the team alive despite it being gutted of staff and resources and managed to get it pulled together to go racing for the season after shoehorning a customer Mercedes engine into the back of what was supposed to a Honda-powered car.

Incredibly, the car turned out to be the quickest on the grid by far at the start of the season, aided greatly by a double diffuser design that left their rivals struggling to catch up.

While Brawn’s speed advantage was slowly eroded away over the season, particularly by Red Bull who ended the season with the quickest car, the advantage opened up by Jenson Button and Rubens Barrichello was enough to secure Brawn the title in its only year of competition, while Button clinched the Drivers’ Championship.

Following the season, Ross Brawn took ownership of the Brawn GP Chassis 001/02 which Button had used for the entirety of the season. Mercedes, who bought the team at the end of 2009, retained Chassis 001/03, while Button went through some legal wrangles with Mercedes to take possession of Chassis 001/01.

A contract clause Button had negotiated with the team at the start of the season entitled him to one of the chassis, an agreement that was initially met with reluctance by Mercedes upon taking ownership of the squad.

With Button leaving Brawn to join McLaren in 2010, he began the process of legal process against Mercedes when several months had passed without receiving delivery of a chassis as promised.

According to a writ submitted by Button’s company JB Next BV, his contract with Brawn read, “In the event that the Driver wins the Driver Championship at any time during the term, the Company shall transfer…ownership of one chassis [car] of the type driven by the driver during that winning season.”

Mercedes had initially sought to provide a replica car, which the 2009 F1 World Champion was not interested in. A short period of negotiation eventually ended in an amicable agreement, with Button taking delivery of, ironically, the ex-Barrichello car which he had never driven in a Grand Prix himself.

While Button raced with Chassis 001/02 for the year, Barrichello used Chassis 001/01 between the season opener in Australia and the Italian Grand Prix. He was then given a new chassis, 001/03, from the Singapore GP onward following a crash during qualifying.

“This car represents the ultimate Formula 1 fairy tale – a revolutionary design that redefined what was possible,” said Bonhams’ Louis Frankel ahead of the auction at the Miami Grand Prix.

“Chassis 001/01 is a piece of motorsport history, and its offering at auction is sure to captivate collectors worldwide. We are honoured to present this unrepeatable opportunity over the Miami Grand Prix, a stage befitting its legendary status.”

As the only Brawn GP chassis to ever be made available to the public, the car will go under the hammer at the Miami Grand Prix weekend on the evening of May 3rd – the auction will be held directly on the Miami circuit.

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