JENSON Button’s legendary F1 racing car which pulled off one of the sport’s greatest-ever underdog victories is set to sell for millions.
The 2009 Brawn GP outpaced Lewis Hamilton and Fernando Alonso to speed Button to his one and only world championship win.
That was the season after Lewis Hamilton won his first championship – marking the first time ever that English drivers won the competition in consecutive years.
Legendary Spanish racer Fernando Alsonso also competed that season, finishing ninth.
The 2009 season was the first and last time Brawn ever competed, making them the only team with a 100 per cent win rate at the world championship.
As it was the team’s debut, Button driving for Brawn was considered a major underdog.
The team had installed a Mercedes engine in a hurry, and went to preseason testing in Barcelona surrounded by low expectations.
The design featured a pioneering double diffuser that gave the Brawn GP team a major edge over the competition.
Button ruled the track for the first third of the season, with six first-place finishes in the first seven races – after which other teams copied the double diffuser and he wasn’t victorious again.
But fifth place in Brazil, the season’s penultimate meet, was enough to seal the deal – producing a champion so unlikely that Button announced his victory over the PA himself.
And now, one of the three cars made for that season is going up for sale for the first time.
Recent sales figures for F1 cars suggest that this icon of the track will go for millions – although there is no auction estimate.
The exact specimen going up for sale is called 2009 Brawn GP Chassis 001/01.
Button’s teammate, Rubens Barrichello, drove 01 to four podium finishes in the 2009 season at Silverstone, Monaco, Spain and Australia.
Barichello also drove chassis 03, whilst Button stuck to 02, but all three were built to the same design.
The car up for auction was given to Button after his victory and remained in his private collection until last year, according to Bonhams, the auction house listing it.
The racer goes under the hammer in Miami on May 3, 2025.
Louis Frankel, Bonhams’ Miami Head of Sales, said: “This car represents the ultimate Formula 1 fairy tale – a revolutionary design that redefined what was possible.
The listing reads: “All Brawns were of the same design, featuring a double diffuser that gave the Brawn GP team a flying start to the season.
“Jenson won six of the first seven races before other teams copied the design.”
“He didn’t win again but hung on just long enough to capture the title.”
Earlier this month, the record for the most expensive F1 car was more than doubled when the 1954 Mercedes W196R Streamliner sold for £42.7million.
This Mercedes W196R was the first of the Streamliner spec ever sold, after almost 60 years on display at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Museum.
It was driven by two star drivers: Juan Manuel Fangio and Stirling Moss.
That auction was held by Sotheby’s at the Mercedes-Benz headquarters in Stuttgart.
TWO huge supermarkets have shoppers shaking their tail feathers after slashing the price of ‘chicken wine’ dupes.
La Vieille Ferme Rosé earned the tongue-in-cheek nickname after gaining popularity among wine enthusiasts.
The French booze first went viral across Instagram and TikTok last summer.
The social media smattering saw a mind-boggling 96 per cent boost in sales at Sainsbury’s compared to 2023.
‘Chicken wine’ costs £7.25 with a Nectar card for 75cl but now there’s a new (pea)cock of the walk and it’s even cheaper.
Fellow bird-themed wine Belorante brings colour to the table with its range of flavours.
Originally £8, Belorante Pecorino is just £6.94 at Asda.
The supermarket is also flogging Belorante Primitivo, originally £10, for £7.98.
Sainsbury’s is also encouraging healthy competition between the chicken and peacock with Belorante Montepulciano D’Abruzzo and Belorante Grillo are just £7.75 at Sainsbury’s.
This comes after shoppers flocked to Aldi to snap a bottle of rosé for under £2.
Wine enthusiasts are raving about the budget-friendly tipple, claiming it’s “twice as good as Echo Falls” thanks to its “sweet, balanced finish.”
The Big Picture California White Zinfandel 75cl is currently priced at £3.99, although “prices may vary.”
Carla Nokes took to TikTok to share her excitement over the discovery, showcasing her impressive find and marvelling at its unbelievable price.
In Carla’s local Aldi store, it was available at the bargain price of just £1.99.
Speaking to the camera from her local Aldi store, she says: “So I’m not sure if this is a genuine mistake or this is a marketing tactic but Aldi are selling Rosé at £1.99. It is unbelievable.
“I just couldn’t believe it. I thought there’s got to be a mistake here.
“So I took one to the checkout and then sipped it instantly as soon as I bought it because I own it and I just couldn’t believe it. It tastes so nice.
“It’s like two times better than Echo Falls but one third of the price.
You need to get yourself down there and get in while you can. I’ve just seen that you can only buy a maximum of 10.
“I think I ended up buying 12. So get down there and get yours ASAP.”
A SUSPECTED spy was just a naive beautician whose judgment was clouded by love, a court heard yesterday.
Vanya Gaberova, 30, was said to be besotted with Biser Dzhambazov, who admits being part of a Russian spy ring.
They were found naked in bed together in his Camden flat, in North London, when they were arrested.
But her lawyer, Anthony Metzer, KC, told the jury Dzhambazov, 43, repeatedly lied to her.
He added: “Even highly intelligent people can have their judgment clouded by love.
“She was a guileless, naive beautician from a small town in Bulgaria.”
Bulgarians Dzhambazov and Orlin Roussev, 47, have admitted spying.
Gaberova, her ex-boyfriend Tihomir Ivanchev, 39, and Dzhambazov’s partner, Katrin Ivanova, 33, deny the allegation.
Old Bailey trial continues.
LEFT-WING lawyers have managed to “hack” the justice system by using the European Court of Human Rights to fight deportations, Kemi Badenoch has blasted.
The Tory leader railed against “useful idiots” supporting those migrants with “cultures and practices” that undermine our values.
She claimed that the very existence of Western civilisation was at stake if the Conservatives did not pick themselves up and return to government.
Speaking at the Alliance for Responsible Citizenship, Ms Badenoch slammed: “I believe that loopholes in liberalism have been found and easily exploited.
“We have been hacked.
“Rule of law is what built so much of the West.
“It is in the corruption of the rule of law itself that we see where the problems begin.
“The most extraordinary example is how the European Convention on Human Rights, designed to stop the persecution of individuals by the state, is now weaponised by those who wish to erode our national identity and border security.”
She highlighted a recent ruling by the Strasbourg court that let a foreign offender dodge deportation because his son did not like chicken nuggets from abroad.
THE Tory leader has backed a UK version of Elon Musk’s waste-cutting drive to root out what she calls “nonsense” spending.
But Kemi Badenoch warned even the US Department of Government Efficiency was not radical enough to tackle frittering here.
She said: “Look at what we’re spending on welfare — so much waste, a lot of nonsense that government does. It’s too big. We need smaller government, smarter spending.”
AT least 30 people have been killed and 15 more injured after a bus tragically fell down a ravine in Bolivia.
The passenger bus is said to have lost control while speeding before plunging into a half-mile-deep abyss.
The accident happened on a narrow two-way road between the cities of Potosi and Oruro, with the route running along a ravine nearly half a mile deep.
At least 15 people injured in the crash — including three children — had been transferred to hospital, local news outlet Unitel reports.
Several were said to be in serious condition.
Authorities said that the crash was likely caused by speeding, with the driver “unable” to control the bus, according to Benavides.
It comes after 38 people were killed in a horror crash after a packed bus collided with a lorry in Brazil before bursting into flames.
The coach, carrying 45 passengers, caught on fire after one of its tyres suddenly blew out and sent the motor out of control, horrified witnesses said.
The driver battled to keep it on the road before it ploughed into an oncoming lorry.
Dozens of the passengers were ultimately killed along with the driver as the bus smashed off the concrete road.
Moments later the impact sparked a deadly inferno.
President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva described the fatal smash as a “terrible tragedy” with harrowing images showing the burnt-out bus left on the side of the road.
It comes just months after three people were killed in a horrific bus crash carrying a Brazilian football team to a championship game.
Local media claims the trio who died were players from the American football team the Coritiba Crocodiles of the southern Brazilian city of Curitiba.
Meanwhile, seven people were killed and 15 injured after a luxury bus plunged into a 200ft gorge after slamming through a barrier.
The driver lost control and the vehicle, carrying 48 passengers, went through a crash barrier and fell about 35ft from the road.
Cops in Gujrat, India, said five people died instantly and 17 were taken to hospital with two later dying of their injuries.
Meanwhile, two people were killed in a horror bus crash on a busy German motorway.
Four others were seriously injured in the fatal smash after a coach carrying 14 passengers on a cross-country trip overturned and was left in a wreck on its side.
PRINCE Harry bid farewell to his Invictus Games in Canada as he is set to take its next edition to the UK.
The Duke of Sussex, 40, posed for selfies on the final day of the games for wounded soldiers after wife Meghan, 43, flew home early.
He was joined by Canada’s Prime Minister Justin Trudeau for the final hours of its first winter games.
Harry looked tearful while delivering a farewell speech on stage at a closing ceremony, which also included performances by Barenaked Ladies and Jelly Roll.
Harry said: “So long as the challenges around us demand it and require it… the games will go on.
“Bring on Invictus Games Birmingham 2027. You have permission to party.”
Birmingham will be the first time the UK has hosted the games since London in 2014 when Wiliam and the King all attended in a show of support.
But Harry’s family have avoided him in recent years after he moved to the US and blasted the royals on Oprah Winfrey, a six-part Netflix series and his memoir Spare.
Meanwhile, despite his high-profile closing speech, Ex-home office minister Norman Baker claims the Duchess of Sussex, 43, “muscled in”, during her husband’s sporting event for wounded servicemen in Canada.
The pair made numerous appearances at the games – held in Vancouver and Whistler from February 8 – 16 – but some accused Meghan of show-stealing antics.
Prince Harry, 40, and Meghan cosied up to one another showing PDA at the opening ceremony.
Meghan also squealed with fear as she tried tubing down a slope.
Royal author Norman claimed on The Sun’s Royal Exclusive show: “It looked kind of like the Meghan show.
