Survive. Drive. Win.: The Inside Story of Brawn GP and Jenson Button's Incredible F1 Championship Win

by Nick Fry, Ed Gorman

For the first time, Nick Fry, the former CEO of Honda Racing F1 Team, Brawn GP and Mercedes AMG Petronas Formula One team, reveals the inside story of the astonishing Brawn GP championship win in 2009 with Jenson Button. This is the full story of how the team was saved from disintegration when Honda suddenly pulled out of Formula One; the management buyout for £1.00; and its subsequent sale to Mercedes for £140 million.

As CEO, Nick Fry was in the driving seat for one of the most incredible journeys in the history of motorsport. Here, he gives an up-close-and-personal account of how he and Ross Brawn turned disaster into championship glory, and offers a unique and thrilling perspective on an elite global sport.

Genres: Nonfiction, Racing, Sports, Biography

288 pages, Hardcover

Published October 17, 2019

Reviews

[Tony · Rating 3 out of 5]

When Honda pulled out of F1 at the end of 2008 they left their team’s former CEO (and co-author) Nick Fry and team principal Ross Brawn to tray and pick up the pieces. After buying the team for £1 and hastily adapting their Honda-developed chassis to accommodate new Mercedes engines, the pair led the new Brawn GP team to the manufacturer’s world championship, and driver Jensen Button to the driver’s championship. They did this while struggling to manage their dwindling finances (limiting the number of team members attending overseas races, using budget airlines and cheap hotels) as big budget competitors developed their cars and literally caught them up. A quick but well written read, especially interesting to hear it from a team manager’s perspective.

[Sarah · Rating 4 out of 5]

Now, I know you are all probably rather confused to see me reviewing a book based on the Formula 1 motorsport. However, with my husband being an avid fan, I am inevitably dragged into watching the races on television. Trust me, I try to resist but after so many, many years together, it’s hard not to share his enthusiasm. As such, when the opportunity came to read a book on this exciting year of F1, I could hardly turn it down, could I? Behind-the-scenes? This was made for me.

A fantastic insight into the behind-the-scenes drama of Formula 1, I believed in the atmosphere and adrenaline-charged environment. Watching the races, you know there is more to the coverage than what is shown, and this book really does dig deep. The stories that are recounted are almost unbelievable, especially as you could imagine how hard it would hit an individual or even a full organisation. However, the story of how Nick and the team overcame them all, and then go on to win the title, is simply amazing and inspiring.

I found the surreal encounters quite enjoyable and it gave the book an interesting “break” from just focusing on F1. From partying with royalty in Monaco, to meeting with prolific con artists, the behind-the-scenes tales are as impressive as the public story.

In conjunction to the normal stories about inter-team rivalry, there are some extraordinary examples of sportsmanship and co-operation within the sport. This, I believe, is something that gets overlooked too often across sports in general.

I felt like I couldn’t give this the full rating because towards the end, the pace of the account slowed tremendously – juxtaposing the excitement of the races themselves! Ironically, this happened to be when the team were not performing very well or winning the races. Hmm, is there a deliberate correlation here?!

This is an interesting book and a definite must for Formula 1 fans. Indeed, with the festive period approaching, I would certainly recommend this finding its way into Santa’s stocking!

With thanks to Atlantic books for providing me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

[Katie.dorny · Rating 3 out of 5]

An interesting and quick deep dive into Brawn GO and the year that Button won the world championship.

Whilst I enjoyed this one overall it felt like our author chose to skim over a lot of details in order to cram the years in. In that respect I’d have been happy for this book to have been a hell of a lot longer to go into more detail.

[Rebecca · Rating 4 out of 5]

A short book - less than 300 pages - but it packs a lot in. If you're into Formula 1, you'll probably know the basics of this story already, but Fry goes into the details that I certainly didn't already know. These include profiling some of the people who offered to buy the team after Honda pulled out, as well as relating some of the difficult decisions that had to be made. Team management is not for the faint-hearted - while other elements can be down to pure luck of being in the right place at the right time.

The book doesn't just cover 2009, but also covers Brawn's evolution into Mercedes, including how they got Michael Schumacher to come out of retirement. Fry is honest in his assessments of both teams and individuals, which helps make this an engaging and interesting book. There are also race-by-race results lists for the 2009 season and complete driver and constructors' championship tables, which round the book off nicely.

[Thomas Harrison-Lord · Rating 5 out of 5]

I'd thought I'd overdosed on information about the surprising results that enabled privateer team Brawn GP to win the 2009 F1 World Championship, but it turns out I hadn't. Honest, frank and revealing, the inner-workings of a sporting miracle. Explores many details that will be new to many.

[Lauris Dedumets · Rating 4 out of 5]

A book that gives insight behind the scenes of not just Formula One, but probably the toughest, and, at the same time, strangest situation that a team could be in. A very interesting read even for enthusiasts, as a lot of previously unheard of information gets revealed within the fairytale story.

The later chapters include the first few seasons of the successor Mercedes team, which is a nice touch, however, this is my gripe with the book, as it feels too compressed, and the book would’ve been better off either skipping, or expanding the final 3 years of Stephen’s collaboration with the team, instead of sitting in the awkward middle.

[Luke · Rating 3 out of 5]

Concise, well-paced retelling of the one year of success and indeed existence for Brawn GP. The story winds up and down through the travails of the season but never feels bloated or unnecessary. The honest, simple tone used probably lacks a little razzle-dazzle and doesn't deliver a lot of surprises, but otherwise it's a good tale.
Not essential reading but a nice compliment to Jenson's book.

[Nick · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really interesting account of the Brawn GP period (including some before and after) from the team CEO at the time. Nick doesnt hold and punches and says what he thinks of certain people in a refreshingly frank way. Interesting behind the scenes view of events and also some insights of management of a big team/company and management of people, how to get the best out of them.

[Darryl A · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fascinating read and perfectly paced.

[Richard F · Rating 3 out of 5]

As far as F1 books go, this is pretty good, but it depends what you're looking for. I previously read Adrian Newey's How To Build A Car (https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/3...) and thought it was excellent, so I have to compare this book to that, and this is probably 70% as good.

Newey's book mixed the technical with the racing, which is why it was a great read for me. Nick Fry's book is more about the management side behind the racing season. It is still good, but as F1 fans know, Brawn GP's miraculous season was a combination of designing a breakthrough rear diffuser and keeping the team afloat long enough to see the car win. However this book dedicates nearly everything to the latter, and precious little to the former.

So, while the book is an engaging tale of how the Fry and Brawn pulled off what they did, it skips on one of the juiciest parts. So if you are interested in the technical side of F1, BE WARNED, you might be disappointed in this book.

Otherwise the book engaged me and I read it fairly quickly compared to other books. However towards the end, I couldn't help but notice that engagement dropping. I then realised that having an engaging story is not enough if you don't have an engaging storyteller. There were key moments in the book where I just didn't feel what Nick Fry was feeling... and I really wanted to. The only time I think that I really stepped into that F1 feeling was the chapter about winning Monaco. I don't know what set that chapter apart from the others, but I felt that most of the book read like a long magazine article. A good article nonetheless, but I didn't get the feeling of amazement and elation that I expect the team felt.

My other gripe was that the book strayed a little in its chapters about Schumacher and Hamilton - the book is really about the miraculous 2009 season, which culminated in Brawn becoming Mercedes, but then the book plodded a little into the years up to 2013, which all felt a little tacked-on.

So that's why I don't rate it as good as Newey's book. But it is still a recommended read for anyone interested in what was happening behind the scenes, and I found most of it an interesting peek behind the curtains.

So this is about 3.5 stars. But if you are reading only to find out the team-management perspective, then you will find a very enjoyable and inspired tale of turning misfortune into fortune in one of the toughest sporting environments in the world.

[Ian · Rating 4 out of 5]

Even in the often extraordinary world of Formula One motor racing, the story of Brawn GP's 2009 season has a certain fairy-tale quality. Following Honda's decision to pull out of the sport the directors bought the team, ran it on a (relative) shoestring and took it to both driver's and constructor's championships in what was effectively its debut season.

Told by managing director Nick Fry this book covers the off-track as well as on-track action with details of the negotiations and deals that kept the team alive and ultimately saw it succeed. The last third or so takes the story on into the Mercedes era and the signing of Michael Schumacher and later Lewis Hamilton.

This is not one of the great motor sport books but it's an easy read and offers some interesting insights into a remarkable achievement.

[Neil · Rating 5 out of 5]

I learned about this book after watching the Brawn GP special on Hulu. As someone that followed the 2009 Formula 1 season and saw the Brawn GP saga play out in real time, this was a must read. The book goes much further in depth than the Hulu special with a first hand account from one of the team owners (Nick Fry). An incredible story of barley making it to the first race, dominating the first 1/3 of the season and struggling to finish in 1st place by the end of the year. It was also impressive how early Mercedes showed interest in the team, only completing the purchase after the season (and the constructor's championship) was won.

A great read for any Formula 1 fan or motorsport junkie.

[Neels Hattingh · Rating 5 out of 5]

I've read many a Formula 1 biography and have enjoyed them all. I enjoyed Nick's candour. It's always nice seeing the inside of the garage and the story behind the race.

People always complain that motor racing is just cars going around and around. In Formula 1 you miss the politics, drama and characters that is part of the show. If you think it's just about the racing, you are missing the best part.

I can highly recommend the book and if you enjoy it, read Ross Brawn's and Adrian Newey's too. They fit nicely in the same time period.

[John · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was an excellent insider’s view of Brawn Racing’s driver’s and constructor’s world championships in 2009. They started with a £1 team and cobbled together a winning team. They had a lot of luck along the way, with things going their way just at the right time. Great book for any racing fan.

[Diogo Pereira · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is such an amazing experience for people who love F1 and explains just how remarkable the 2009 season was. Full of excellent backstage stories and behind the scenes insight. We need more books like this and less sensationalism cash-grabbing F1 books.

[James · Rating 5 out of 5]

Thoroughly enjoyed reading this behind the scenes account of arguably one of the best years in F1 from the man at the centre of it all. A must for F1 fans.

[Karma Yen]

We all know button is king

[Kris Boardman · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great insight into Brawn GPs championship year and beyond. Sadly last 25%+ of book had pictures and statistics. Nice touch from the author that all profits are donated to charity

[Casan Scott · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great story for any F1 fan

I really enjoyed this story. Brawn GP was such a unique story in the history of Formula 1. So cool.

[Andrew Straiton · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great book

[John C. Boer · Rating 3 out of 5]

Goed geschreven (want ghostwritten) verhaal over het seizoen 2009 met Brawn GP. Modern sprookje, helaas met beperkt inzicht in de managerial kant van het verhaal.

[Gael Barrera · Rating 5 out of 5]

Really great book for an F1 fan. It is by far one of my favorite underdog stories to read and to talk about and having more details and more knowledge about it just makes it even better.

[Attila Takos · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a fantastic book! Nick Fry's role has been pretty much underestimated when we talk about BrawnGP's and Button's fairytale, but it was him who hired some of the masterminds in the crew back in the late Honda-days, most notably Ross Brawn as well. I must say that this book gives the best insight what happened when Honda pulled the plug, how it went on to become BrawnGP, how the team went through the best and the worst parts of the season, compared to all the three books written by Button and Brawn's book entitled 'Total Competition'. Also we should give credit to Ed Gorman, who was the other author of this book.