Keanu Reeves fronts a new four-part docu-series on Jenson Button's 2009 World Championship-winning season, Brawn: The Impossible Formula 1 Story. They pair spoke to Melissa Nathoo about how emotional it was re-living it and what it's like interviewing some of the sport's most daunting figures.
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00:00 Jensen, Keanu, it is good to see you both.
00:03 I remember living through this,
00:05 not in the same way as you, Jensen,
00:07 but at the time as a Braun GP fan.
00:11 - Yes.
00:12 - I have got the merch, it is Jensen's.
00:16 So that is one of my prize possessions.
00:18 So I was there as a fan,
00:20 but Jensen, for you reliving it through this doc,
00:23 what has that been like?
00:25 - The company was 14 years on,
00:26 but reliving it, it has been a pretty special experience
00:31 for me.
00:33 And I have watched it a few times now.
00:37 Every time I watch it, it makes me emotional.
00:39 And I know the ending.
00:40 But one other thing that really means a lot
00:46 is that I have two kids now,
00:47 and they never got to see me race in Formula One.
00:51 So when they are old enough,
00:53 they get to see, you know,
00:55 I am going to get emotional now,
00:56 they are going to get to see their dad
00:58 win the world championship.
00:59 And yeah, that is so cool.
01:01 So thank you, Keanu.
01:02 - That is so cool.
01:04 That is so cool.
01:05 And it is such a great doc as well.
01:07 Like I said, I know this story,
01:09 and I still loved watching it all over again.
01:12 Keanu, I do not feel like there is much
01:15 that really phases you at this point in your career,
01:18 but how daunting, or was it daunting
01:21 interviewing Bernie Eccleston?
01:23 Because that man, I will not lie, scares me.
01:26 - Yeah, he is, it was such an honor for me
01:31 to have the opportunity to sit and meet him.
01:34 My impression is just an extraordinary intelligence,
01:39 wit, humor, keen, sharp, and grounded.
01:45 Like, he is like, he talks truth.
01:51 You know, like, you might not like it,
01:53 and he is very piercing.
01:55 He can like read you.
01:57 He can like peer into your soul.
01:59 And he just asks us, right, Jensen?
02:02 He like, he'll just say a thing that cuts you,
02:05 or you think you're looking at one object,
02:09 and you think you're talking,
02:10 and he's like, no, you're not.
02:13 Like, there's a moment in the doc,
02:14 and I'm like, you know, but they had,
02:16 but they were driving the same car.
02:18 And he's like, were they?
02:20 - I was gonna say, I was like,
02:21 who else put the camera on some inches?
02:23 - Who told you that?
02:24 - Just winding you up.
02:25 I mean, that's the thing with Bernie.
02:27 Everything he says is for a reason.
02:31 - It's so delicious.
02:33 - Yeah, and because he's in his eighties,
02:34 everyone's like, oh, you know, is he as sharp?
02:36 Yeah, he's from the top.
02:39 - Sharp and terrifying.
02:41 - But I mean, seeing him,
02:42 and then Luca Montezemolo from Ferrari.
02:46 Could you imagine, Jensen, those two guys in a room?
02:50 Ah, so good.
02:53 He was a bit Montezemolo, and I loved watching it.
02:57 That's the bit that made me laugh the most,
02:59 was his interviews.
03:00 And you, I mean, you could tell the questions
03:04 you were asking him, he was struggling with.
03:07 And he's like, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no.
03:10 - Well, it's clear, Keanu, you're a massive F1 fan,
03:13 and you're such a great person, I feel, to front it.
03:16 But Jensen, and I know Keanu's right here,
03:19 but for you, why is he the right person that you do know?
03:23 There's so many people in Formula One,
03:24 people thinking, oh, surely someone from F1
03:26 should have been fronting it.
03:27 But when you watch it, it makes sense.
03:29 But for those who haven't seen it yet,
03:31 why is Keanu the right person to front this dog?
03:34 - Many reasons.
03:35 One, as soon as Keanu asks you a question,
03:37 you feel that you have to,
03:38 you're obligated to answer it correctly.
03:40 But also, I think it's fantastic
03:46 that it's somebody from outside of the sport.
03:49 You know, I've written an autobiography,
03:52 and I did it with a ghost writer.
03:56 And I did it with a ghost writer
03:57 that knew nothing about Formula One.
04:00 And it was great because it was my words,
04:04 and it made it so important
04:06 that it wasn't someone from the inside
04:07 that had their take on it.
04:09 So I don't mean that disrespectfully, Keanu.
04:14 Having someone from outside of the Formula One world,
04:17 I think is great, but he did his homework as well.
04:20 So some of the questions he asked to everyone
04:23 were tricky in some ways.
04:27 And I think he got the best out of everyone
04:30 that he interviewed.
04:31 Montezemolo, I thought, you know,
04:33 it was great what he could get out of him.
04:35 You know, he's very controlled normally,
04:38 and you know, with the right way of what you can say
04:40 and what you can't say.
04:41 But you got everything out of him you possibly could.
04:45 The same with Bernie, the same with Ross,
04:47 and it was, and Christian Horner, I mean.
04:50 - Well, you came across really well.
04:52 - All you need to say is he is the one.
04:54 Like, Keanu's the one.
04:55 - Oh no.
04:56 - He's the one.
04:57 Well, actually, now that you've interviewed Ross,
05:02 I have always imagined him to be like a big teddy bear.
05:06 So for me, I still feel like he is like that.
05:08 Do you still see him like that?
05:10 Or is he that silent assassin
05:12 that everyone else in the paddock seems to think that he is?
05:15 - I think both can be true.
05:17 But he's a silent assassin in racing.
05:20 Stories, people speak about him and interact,
05:25 having the chance to meet him, speak with him.
05:27 There's a part of him that's a gentleman.
05:30 - Yeah.
05:31 - And he cares, he's a good person.
05:33 I think even his managing style, you know,
05:36 people were expecting Ross to come to Honda
05:40 and fire everybody and do his own thing.
05:42 He was like, "No, I'm gonna listen to everybody.
05:44 "I think there's some quality here.
05:46 "We just need to start this culture and start this way."
05:51 And, you know, that's...
05:54 But then when it came to racing, you know,
05:57 it's racing, right, Jensen?
05:59 - You want Ross on your side.
06:02 - Yeah.
06:04 I met him once and he was just,
06:05 to me, he was just a big, tuddly teddy bear.
06:07 - He is.
06:08 - That's the way.
06:08 - He's got a good sense of humor
06:11 and he's, of course, brilliant.
06:13 But, you know, he does have those piercing eyes
06:16 that look at you, you know?
06:19 He looks at you, you know?
06:21 And I feel like you're getting scanned, you know?
06:24 But anyway, he's lovely.
06:25 - I love this inside.
06:27 - We did actually used to call him the bear as well,
06:31 which I'm sure he's a good guy.
06:32 - Love that.
06:33 Bring that back, bring that back to the paddock.
06:36 And finally, just before I go,
06:38 we've seen so many changes to F1
06:40 and I know, obviously, you both know your F1.
06:42 So I'm curious to know for each of you
06:45 whether you like the way that it's going
06:49 and then trying to introduce new stuff
06:51 or would you like to see a return
06:52 to the traditional kind of format,
06:55 you know, practice on the Friday,
06:56 quali on Saturday, race on the Sunday?
06:58 - I think we have a good thing with the standard weekend,
07:01 you know, with two hours of practice Friday,
07:03 hour on Saturday morning, qualifying, race on Sunday.
07:07 It's pretty much been like that for years.
07:11 - Yeah.
07:11 - So don't mind mixing it up now and again.
07:14 I don't think there's an issue with trying new things.
07:17 I think we've always got to be open
07:19 to trying new things in F1.
07:20 It's the pinnacle.
07:21 You know, we can try stuff.
07:22 It doesn't work, we get rid of it.
07:24 So I'm open to change.
07:27 And I know you were talking about sprint races
07:30 and I love sprint in Brazil,
07:33 but I know a lot of fans are against it
07:35 because it gives away what's going to happen in the race.
07:37 So I think we have to listen to what the fans want as well.
07:41 That is important.
07:42 Because without them, the sport doesn't exist.
07:44 But we also have to think about manufacturers, OEMs,
07:48 what's important to them as well.
07:49 - How about you, Keone?
07:50 What direction do you want to see it going in?
07:51 - Direction?
07:52 As long as there's racing, I'm happy.
07:55 - There you go.
07:56 - So whether it's a sprint or not a sprint, definitely.
08:00 I like them once in a while too.
08:04 I don't think every weekend for Formula 1
08:07 should have a sprint.
08:09 I don't know.
08:10 If they did, okay.
08:11 But I think it's nice to pop them in there once in a while.
08:15 Also, 'cause it takes different strategies
08:18 and with those different strategies,
08:21 maybe the result isn't as set.
08:25 - Pick and choose the tracks a little bit.
08:27 - Yeah.
08:28 - For a sprint race.
08:29 Like Brazil was an awesome track for it.
08:31 - Always, always.
08:33 Guys, listen, I love the both of you.
08:35 I love this story.
08:37 I love this sport.
08:38 So I was never not going to love this documentary.
08:41 Good luck with it when it comes out
08:43 'cause what an epic story to be a part of.
08:46 Thank you so much for bringing it to our screens.
08:48 - Thank you.
08:49 - Thank you so much, guys.