Jenson Button recalled one of the most difficult periods of his Formula 1 career and highlighted Ross Brawn as the person responsible for transforming the Honda environment before the 2009 world title. The Brit described the 2007 season as a true disaster for the Japanese team.
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The statement was made during an appearance on the podcast “F1 Beyond The Grid,” hosted by Tom Clarkson. According to Button, Honda went into decline precisely after achieving its first victory in Formula 1, at the 2006 Hungarian GP, when the team expected to make an even bigger leap in the following championship.
“We expected a lot from 2007, and it was an absolute disaster,” said the former driver. “Our junior team, Super Aguri, was using our 2006 car, so they were beating us. That car had won a race, while we were driving something that couldn’t even reach the points zone.”
Button explained that the scenario only began to change at the end of 2007, with the arrival of Ross Brawn to Honda’s structure. For him, the impact was immediate within the team. “It was when Ross showed up at the end of 2007 that we thought: ‘Now this is going to change.’ You could feel the change in atmosphere. A team that had won a race was very bad in 2007 and needed that boost again,” he highlighted.
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The 2009 champion also shared how the announcement of Brawn’s hiring was made inside the factory. “I remember they gathered the whole factory in a room and no one knew Ross was coming. Then he appeared walking down the corridor and looked like our savior,” Button said.
Besides his strong presence, the Brit stated that Brawn completely changed the team’s internal culture. “He eliminated the blame culture, made people freer to create crazy ideas. Sometimes they don’t work, but you need to take risks if you want to move forward again. The environment really became very good with Ross there,” he concluded.
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