Jenson Button to reunite with F1 title-winning Brawn at Goodwood Members’ Meeting debut
Jenson Button will make his first ever appearance at the Goodwood Members’ Meeting, reuniting with his 2009 Formula 1 World Championship-winning Brawn BGP 001 car.
Button, who recently retired from professional racing, last drove the Brawn BGP 001 in 2019 to mark 10 years since his world championship win, calling the experience “emotional and quite surreal”. The Brit will demonstrate his skill behind the wheel in an on-track demonstration, as part of his continued presence at Goodwood throughout the weekend.
Brawn GP’s remarkable 2009 saw the team, led by motorsport extraordinaire Ross Brawn, achieve a world title with the first and only car it ever built. The BGP 001 won eight out of the 17 races during the season, with Rubens Barrichello as Button’s teammate. The car has previously appeared at the Festival of Speed in 2016 and SpeedWeek in 2020, while Button’s long association with Goodwood stretches back to the early 2000s and includes historic racing at Revival.
The Duke of Richmond CBE DL said: “I can’t wait to see Jenson back behind the wheel of the fabled Brawn BGP001 at the 83rd Members’ Meeting. Seeing, and hearing a modern Formula 1 car at speed around the Goodwood Motor Circuit is always a thrill.
It really will be an ‘I was there’ moment, and the best possible way to celebrate the end of Jenson’s professional racing career.”
Members’ Meeting to celebrate James Hunt
The 83rd Members’ Meeting will also celebrate one of Formula 1’s most charismatic figures, James Hunt, on the 50th anniversary of his 1976 World Championship win.
An on-track demonstration called ‘The James Hunt Years’ will look back at his career, with up to 20 of the greatest F1 cars from an era that defined the sport, from cars Hunt raced himself, to those he competed against.
Hunt’s six years in Formula 1 began with Hesketh at the 1973 Monaco Grand Prix, where the team garnered as many headlines for their parties in the paddock as they did for their on-track performance.
His 1976 World Championship battle with Niki Lauda will go down as one of the greatest seasons in F1 history and its compelling story was famously retold in the excellent Ron Howard film, Rush.
Speaking ahead of the celebration, Hunt’s son Freddie said: "The 1970s were a transformative era for Formula 1, and my father was undoubtedly at the heart of it all. To see some of his greatest cars reunited in celebration of what many consider the greatest season in the sport's history truly means a great deal to us."
words: Mike Booth
pictures: Goodwood