Jenson Button has reflected on the tumultuous period at Honda during the 2007 and 2008 Formula 1 seasons, hailing the arrival of Ross Brawn as the team’s “saviour”.
Speaking to Tom Clarkson during an appearance on the F1 Beyond The Grid podcast, the 2009 world champion opened up about the struggles that the Japanese manufacturer faced following his maiden F1 victory at the 2006 Hungarian Grand Prix.
Rather than capitalising on the momentum, the team suffered an unexpected decline in performance the next year.
Button described the 2007 season as an absolute disaster. “We expected so much out of 2007, and it just was a disaster,” he said. “It really was. Our junior team, Super Aguri, had our 2006 car, so they were beating us. That car had won a race, and we were driving something that we couldn’t even get into the points with.”
But the arrival of Brawn resulted in a shift within the team. “So, that was a tough year. And then it was more when Ross turned up at the end of 2007. That was the moment that it’s like, ‘Oh, this is going to turn around,'” the Briton added.
“And you felt the mood shift. A team that had won a race suddenly was so bad in 2007, it needed that kick-start again.”
Rubens Barrichello, Brawn GP, Jenson Button, Brawn GP, Ross Brawn, Brawn GP Team Principal
Photo by: Charles Coates / LAT Images via Getty Images
When asked what Brawn brought to the team, Button added: “I think just his presence, first of all, was enough. Just him walking into the room was enough. I remember it was like an assembly. We had the whole factory in one room, and nobody really knew that Ross was coming, and that’s when it was announced.
“He walked down the middle aisle, and there he was at the front, and he was our saviour. He was the person who was going to come in and save us from the disastrous 2007.
“It wasn’t just his presence, but that was already a kick-start. But his leadership, his understanding of how a team needs to work together. Getting rid of the blame culture within a team, letting people be a bit more free within a team, and come up with crazy ideas.
“Sometimes they don’t work, but they’ve got to take risks, otherwise you’re never going to get to the front. So, it was a really good atmosphere when Ross was there.”
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