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.
