We all know that Keanu Reeves loves his motorcycles; I’ve written about him here a few times in the past – including the exciting array of vehicles on show in the very car-friendly first edition of the movie franchise, John Wick, and also of course Arch Motorcycles.
So it is no surprise that Reeves is keeping the faith with the automotive world and has been signed up to chat about Brawn GP for the new Disney documentary, Brawn: The Impossible Formula 1 Story, where he will be host and also the show’s producer.
Brawn GP – From £1 To F1 World Championship
Ross Brawn acquired an F1 racing team for £1 ($1.20) and won the next F1 World Championship
The series is a 4-part unscripted documentary with Reeves talking about the unfancied Brawn GP; a company that very nearly disappeared, before resurrecting itself like a phoenix and then going on to provide the 2009 season with a championship winner.
A real tale of success against adversity, as Disney rightly puts it.
Keanu wondering how Jensen Button managed to fit inside such a tiny race car
Brawn GP appeared in the spring of 2009, with Ross Brawn buying the Honda Racing F1 team for just £1 following the team’s withdrawal from the event the previous year.
A week or so later and the FIA agreed the name change and also considered Brawn GP to be a new entity, despite being more or less a continuation of a previous team.
Brawn Over Matter
It wasn’t as simple a run in as all that – the immediate lack of Honda engines was potentially to be a major stumbling block to Brawn GP, but with interest from several manufacturers revealing a few options to choose from, Brawn decided upon using hardware from Mercedes-Benz (who, incidentally, had previously blocked an initial plan to name the team Pure Racing as it would conflict with Pure Racing-Mercedes).
What Brawn GP managed to achieve in such a short space of time is quite remarkable, one that ‘barely seems believable’ as Reeves states.
Ross Brawn rode into town with a heavily underfunded and understaffed proposition for Formula 1, which is the most expensive racing setup around, and the ongoing technological advancements (with limits applied by FIA rules) are often mind-boggling too.
To even think of competing sounded like pure madness.
Yet despite the obvious setbacks, Brawn GP rose against the odds and won the World Championship.
Not bad for an initial £1 outlay. It seems very apt that Disney Plus will be airing this 4-parter, as a company so very familiar with fairytales.
Keanu Hosts Disney Documentary On Brawn F1
Brawn: The Impossible Formula 1 Story is a North One production written and developed by Simon Hammerson and directed by 2022 Broadcast Best Sports Documentary winner, Daryl Goodrich.
The show will premiere on Disney+ on November 15 2023 and on Hula if you’re in America.
The show will also feature Ross Brawn himself, Jenson Button, Rubens Barrichello, Christian Horner and Nick Fry.
Button and Barrichello drove for Brawn GP in the 2009 competition.
Video: youtube.com/@hulu
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