Brawn: The Impossible Formula 1 Story review: A gripping docu about F1’s greatest underdog story

3.5/5

Story: The 2009 Formula 1 season delivered the pinnacle of motorsport racing its greatest underdog story – Brawn GP’s journey from being almost shut down before the start of the 2009 season to clinching the World Championship in the space of 10 months. Host Keanu Reeves interviews those involved with the team at the time, including team principal Ross Brawn, and drivers Jenson Button and Rubens Barrichello.

Review: The world of Formula 1 is arguably one of the cut-throat sporting competitions in the world – a sport that revels in its politics and wealth unlike any other. For several reasons, 2009 was a landmark year for Formula One. New regulations were brought in that destabilised historic giants of Formula 1 such as Ferrari and McLaren. Both teams are yet to recover from it even to this day – failing to win a single World Championship since 2009 despite winning nine of the previous 11 championships between them. The global recession at the time forced Honda to pull out from the sport, which resulted in the team management, led by Ross Brawn and Nick Fry, buying out the team under tremendous financial constraints. The documentary also sheds light on the threat by Formula 1 teams that year to break away from the sport to create a rival competition, if Bernie Ecclestone and Max Moseley did not relinquish a large share of the sport’s revenue.

It is a fairytale underdog story for the ages, but unlike Leicester City becoming Premier League champions in 2016, this British team, Brawn GP, did not enjoy a straightforward path to glory. The double-diffuser technology introduced by the three teams in 2009 was met with significant outrage by rivals, leading to a court case that ultimately went in favour of Brawn GP, Toyota, and Williams. Rivals argued that these teams exploited a loophole in the new regulations. However, as Ross Brawn pointed out in the documentary Brawn GP’s significant advantage in pace for the first half of the season was not merely down to the double-diffuser. If there were indeed the case both Toyota and Williams would’ve produced a car that could’ve challenged Brawn that year.

Undoubtedly, the double-diffuser was instrumental in Brawn’s unprecedented success that year. However, Ross Brawn’s pedigree as a man instrumental in Ferrari’s dominance after the turn of the millennia certainly helped his new team attain unimaginable heights in 2009. The controversy surrounding the double-diffuser is addressed with insightful interviews with members of the Brawn GP team as well as opposing views from rival team principals such as Red Bull Racing’s Christian Horner, as well as former F1 boss Bernie Ecclestone. The documentary then proceeds to cover each race of the season, offering an in-depth analysis of the team. It explores the car’s dominance in the first half of the season, with British driver Jenson Button winning six of the first seven races, and the second half after rival teams with more resources caught up with Brawn GP.

Hollywood star Keanu Reeves is a remarkably refreshing host, adding a touch of his own personality to the questions. The four-part docu-series does not attempt to sugarcoat or shy away from the various controversies that transpired over the course of the season, unlike the popular Netflix documentary series Netflix: Drive to Survive. The rivalry between teammates Button and Barrichello also takes centre stage in episodes three and four, leading up to the penultimate race of the season at Barrichello’s home circuit in Interlagos, Brazil. The archival race footage and the behind-the-scenes clips offer viewers a taste of the high-octane drama that unfolded on the racing tracks and at the paddocks in 2009.

If there is one minor gripe certain viewers would have about the riveting series would be the fact that showrunner Simon Hammerson and series director Daryl Goodrich did not delve too much into one of the most exciting races of 2009 – the Belgian Grand Prix where 2007 World Champion Kimi Raikkonen drove his lacklustre Ferrari to an unbelievable victory at Spa. Of course, it is a gripe that will only be shared by fans of the Finnish driver, who is called the ‘Iceman’. The series is well-crafted and incisive offering a lucid perspective of those involved in the 2009 Formula 1 World Championships, as Brawn GP became the first F1 team in history to win the Driver’s and Constructor’s Championships in its first year.

Verdict: For Formula 1 purists Brawn: The Impossible Formula 1 Story is a trip down memory lane offering fascinating insights into what could be the most unbelievable seasons ever in the sport’s rich history. Keanu Reeves brings a touch of flair to the proceedings as he interviews some of the biggest names in the sport’s history as well as some of the pivotal figures that led Brawn GP and Jenson Button to the World Championships in 2009.