Brabham

Brabham was formed in 1962 by Jack Brabham and designer Ron Tauranac, taking over the remains of the Cooper Car Company. The team's first car, the BT3 (the 'BT' prefix stood for Brabham Tauranac), debuted at the 1962 German Grand Prix. In 1966, Jack Brabham became the first driver to win a World Championship in a car bearing his own name, driving the Repco-powered BT19. The team expanded rapidly, moving to a new factory in Chessington, Surrey, and later to Milton Keynes. By the late 1970s, under the technical direction of Gordon Murray, Brabham became a consistent front-runner, with Nelson Piquet winning two drivers' titles in 1981 and 1983.¹²

Brabham was known for several groundbreaking designs. The most famous was the BT46B 'fan car', introduced at the 1978 Swedish Grand Prix, which used a large fan to extract air from under the car, creating immense downforce. It won its only race but was quickly banned by the FIA. The BT52, designed for the 1983 season, was the first Formula One car to win a championship using a turbocharged engine, the BMW M12/13. Other innovations included the BT49, the first carbon-fibre monocoque chassis in F1 (1979), and the BT55 'lowline' car (1986) which placed the engine at a steep angle to lower the centre of gravity.³

Jack Brabham himself drove for the team from 1962 to 1970, winning his third title in 1966. Nelson Piquet won his two championships with Brabham in 1981 and 1983. Other notable drivers include Dan Gurney (who scored the team's first win in 1964), Denny Hulme (1967 champion with Brabham), Carlos Reutemann, Niki Lauda (who left the team after a near-fatal crash in 1976), and later Damon Hill and Martin Brundle in the early 1990s.⁴

Beyond Formula One, Brabham built road-legal sports cars, such as the BT62 (2018), a track-focused hypercar. In the late 1980s, the team experimented with active suspension and a 'Green Machine' prototype (BT58) that used a radical carbon-fibre chassis but never raced. The team also dabbled in sports car racing, building the Brabham BT8 for the 1960s. After financial troubles, the team was sold in 1989 and finally collapsed in 1992. The Brabham name was revived in 2018 by David Brabham (Jack's son) as Brabham Automotive, producing the BT62. Another obscure fact: the team's first ever win came at the 1964 French Grand Prix with Dan Gurney, and the car used a Coventry Climax engine.⁵

Brabham's legacy includes four Constructors' Championships, two Drivers' Championships, and a reputation for innovation. The team's influence extended to engineering talent like Gordon Murray, who later designed the McLaren F1 road car. In 2018, the Brabham BT62 was launched as a limited-production track car, followed by a road-legal version in 2019. The brand continues to be active in motorsport, with a planned return to endurance racing. The Brabham name remains one of the most respected in Formula One history, often cited as a classic example of a small team achieving greatness through ingenuity.¹⁵

BT

Initials for Brabham Tauranac, the design partnership between Jack Brabham and Ron Tauranac, used as a prefix for all Brabham racing cars.

Repco

Australian engine manufacturer that supplied the V8 engines for Brabham's 1966 and 1967 championship-winning cars.

Gordon Murray

South African-born engineer who served as Brabham's chief designer from 1972 to 1986, responsible for the BT46 fan car and BT49.

Fan car

The Brabham BT46B, which used a rear-mounted fan to generate downforce, winning one race before being banned.