With a little twist of fate, the man at the wheel of a Brawn this year could have been Nick Heidfeld.
Last year, we reported strong speculation that the German, who ultimately signed a one-year extension to stay with BMW-Sauber in 2009, was in talks with the Brackley based team's predecessor Honda.
The 32-year-old was ultimately relieved to keep his works cockpit, but if he had reached a deal with Honda, he would no doubt now be at the wheel of the BGP001.
Heidfeld admitted to the Suddeutscher Zeitung newspaper in Germany that he sometimes thinks about how his season would be going had he signed to switch camps.
"Of course I think from time to time what would have happened. In 2008 I was in contact with them," Heidfeld, twelfth in the standings while Jenson Button and Rubens Barrichello are first and second, said.
However, when he heard about Honda's decision to withdraw from the sport, Heidfeld admits he was initially relieved before "suddenly they (Brawn) win race after race".
The German also said he is disappointed that politics have all but taken over the media coverage of formula one.
"These days, if I read an interview with someone from F1, I no longer say 'that's interesting'. Instead I ask 'I wonder why is he saying that?' I find that pretty sad," added Heidfeld.
