Customer Reviews

The Brawn Story: The Man and the Team That Turned Formula 1 Upside-down

5 star:		(5)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(4)

 

 

Ross Brawn is a very interesting and extremely talented person. I had hoped to learn more about his own background prior to Brawn GP being formed. About 75 pages are devoted to the first 54 years of his life. 241 pages are devoted to the year 2009, i.e. the focus is on the Brawn team, not the person.

We have quotations from each driver and Ross Brawn after virtually every practice/qualifying session and race in 2009. Most of these are in anodyne PR speak. What were their real feelings, how did Jenson psyche himself up for the penultimate GP of the year in Brazil, etc?

The author has forgotten that five British GPs took place at Aintree between 1955 and 1962. There are also a number of typos.

In summary I found this a disappointment.

As an avid F1 fan, I followed the trials and tribulations of Jenson Button and the Brawn F1 team with great interest since the teams survival just before the 2009 season commenced, and couldn't wait to read this book when it was released.

However, like many of this author's other efforts, I found it very disappointing. If you like reading through tedious race by race detail, lap times etc., all of which was in the public domain during the course of the season, then this is the book for you.

If you are looking for an insight into the human stories behind the Brawn team, give this a miss.

I found myself skipping through the book once we got to the race by race stage, and ironically picked up Jenson Button's 'My Championship Year' which was a much more interesting read.

All in all the story behind the Brawn team was a fantastic tale, but in my opinion, this book is disappointing.

The author could have done a much better job of telling the story between Honda's withdrawal, and the birth of Brawn GP.

The story of Brawn GP was unique - a team that almost never made it to the grid, saved by the skin of its teeth, relying on a level of generosity not normally found in F1, and which defied the odds to roar to 8 race wins and both championships in its one and only season. The whole story is full of drama and intrigue....

...very little of which makes it into this book. Instead we get a brief skim through the team's creation; an overly long biography of Ross Brawn; and page after tedious page of race recaps - regardless of the fact that anyone with enough interest in F1 to buy the book will inevitably know 99% of what's described.

A hugely disappointing book, considering the wealth of material that Brawn GP offered.

A very short section describing Ross's history, which is domonated by quotes about him, another very short section on how Honda morphed into Brawn, again dominated by quotes, the remainder of the book, about two thirds of it, is almost a lap by lap description of Jensons world champianship season. A big let down.

We are F! fanatics, and love Ross Brawn, realy enjoyed this book, would recommend to you if you like F! or Brawn

The book starts well, but then lacks pace from about 2/3 onwards. Interesting to read about his early career, but not as interesting after the "Brawn" year.

Husband over the moon with this book.
Bought as part of his secret santa gift.
Already itching to get reading.

Clumsy, clunky style leaves one feeling that this was a rare and unique opportunity missed. The early promise turns into a desperate plea to get to the end as quickly as possible in the hope that at least the end might be comparable with the start, it wasn't. The only reason to read it is that there is nothing else available!

Got this for my brother, loved it so much had to get it myself as well.

This is a great insight into the story of amazing success pulled from almost certain failure due to the determination of one man, Ross Brawn, and an amazing team who continued to work on their F1 car despite Honda pulling the plug in the desperate hope there would be a way to bring it to the starting grid in Australia. Whilst not always 'gripping', the insight into the mentality of the key members of the Brawn GP team and the hurdles that team overcame is almost as exciting as the success Brawn GP achieved in their first year.