Fairytales do happen but sometimes they don't end with happily ever after, just ask Mercedes GP fans.
Brawn (formerly known as Honda which was formerly known as BAR) nearly didn't make it to the 2010 grid. With Honda putting their F1 team up for sale at the end of last year due to financial concerns, all was quiet at the Brackley headquarters as the team sought a new owner. That saviour materialised in the form of ex-Ferrari guru Ross Brawn, who had joined Honda as their technical director in 2008.
On 6 March 2009, just over three weeks before the new season kicked off in Australia, Brawn announced that he bought the team, rebranding it 'Brawn GP', and would retain both Jenson Button and Rubens Barrichello for this year's Championship.
Less than 24 hours later the team's 2009 challenger, the BGP001, was putting in its first laps at Silverstone in a shakedown test while two days later Brawn and his new car were up against their rival outfits for the first time at Barcelona where the team was quick to impress, hitting the front of the pack and proving their reliability.
But with only two weeks of testing under their belts before the Australian GP, many doubted whether their phenomenal run of form will continue throughout the season given the new in-season test ban.
But if anyone can do it, Ross Brawn can. Everything he touched turned into gold in 2010 as the team won the Drivers' and Constructors' Championships in its debut season. It started with a 1-2 finish in Australia when Button led home his team-mate. Button again finished P1 in Malaysia, but his team-mate could only manage fifth.
The Red Bulls hit back in the third race of the season in China and Button had to settle for third place. For the next few months though it was all Button and Brawn as he won four in a row (including two more 1-2 finishes for Brawn) and practically wrapped up the Championship. Victory in Turkey meant Button became only the fifth driver after Alberto Ascari, Juan Manuel Fangio, Jim Clark and Michael Schumacher to win six of the first seven races of the season.
The Brit, though, failed to win another race after that and Barrichello made sure he kept the pressure on his team-mate by claiming victory in Valencia and Italy. Although Button took the foot off the paddle in the last few races, he still cruised home to his maiden Drivers' title. It was double delight for the team in the penultimate race of the season in Brazil as they wrapped up both titles. Although Barrichello had to settle for third in the standings, it was still a season to remember for the team.
However, no one rested on their laurels at the conclusion of the season. First Barrichello confirmed that he had signed up with Williams, then Ross Brawn revealed that he had sold a majority stake in the team to German carmaker Mercedes while Button shocked all be announcing that he's off to McLaren for the 2010 season.
It all meant that the team would start the Mercedes GP era with a new line-up. It wasn't too long before Nico Rosberg was confirmed as one of their drivers, but the best news for Merc fans was still to come. After weeks of speculation the team finally revealed that they had signed F1 legend Michael Schumacher to form an all German line-up.
With the Brawn-Schumacher partnership back in F1, many waited with eager anticipation for Mercedes GP to pull off another miracle. It wasn't to be.
The team's achievements in their first season did not come close to those of Brawn the previous year, with the Mercedes battling Renault for the title of 'best of the rest' behind the leading three teams of Ferrari, McLaren and Red Bull.
And for Schumacher fans, it was a disappointing return to the sport as the seven-time World Champion struggled to get up to speed and was ultimately Mercedes GP's number two driver as he failed to reach the podium, while Rosberg achieved three top-three finishes.
The team's slump from the high of 2009 eventually led to Brawn admitting that they were suffering a major hangover from their Championship-winning season, which put them on the back foot throughout the campaign.
It also resulted in the team switching their focus to 2011 relatively early on, admitting that the season would not produce the performances that they had hoped for.
For 2011, Schumacher and Rosberg will continue their all-German line-up while Mercedes-Benz are now the sole owners of the F1 team, having purchased the remaining stake in the outfit from Brawn and Fry.
The team is already being tipped as outside favourites for a few early wins after an impressive showing in the final week of pre-season testing with their updated and rather striking W02.
But it's going to take Schumacher return to his old form and Rosberg being ever-more determined to beat his elder statesman for the team to launch a challenge for a top three finish in the Constructors' Championship. The World title may be a step too far...
