And Colossally That's History!

Brawn GP: The overlooked consequences of an F1 fairy tale

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Episode notes

Matt Bishop (journalist, editor, novelist and PR) and Richard Williams (journalist, author and broadcaster) are here to reappraise the past - and they'd love to have you along for the ride!

On the first episode of the podcast, they look back on arguably the greatest fairy tale in motor racing history: Brawn GP's miraculous 2009 F1 season, when the team rose from near oblivion to claim both drivers' and constructors' titles. But what's fascinating, with hindsight, is the chain of events set in motion by the then-Honda team's survival...

Listen in as Bishop, then head of communications for McLaren, explains with some incredible anecdotes what happened behind the scenes at the Woking team, and how in gallantly helping to save a rival, McLaren gave away a key performance advantage that would hurt them for years to come, and also pave the way not only for Michael Schumacher's F1 return, but for the Mercedes team's future dominance.