Keanu Reeves is world-renowned bike enthusiast, but it seems he’s got some love for four-wheeled transportation as well. The actor has been spotted at a series of F1 events this year, and a new report from Variety shows why: Reeves is apparently working on a limited docuseries focusing on Brawn GP.
If you, like me, are’t a disciple of F1 branding history, the story of Brawn GP is actually an interesting one. Back in the financial crisis of 2008, Honda pulled out of Formula One and left an unnamed but fully-prepared team in its wake.
Honda’s team principal, Ross Brawn, bought the team for one whole pound and renamed it in his own image: Brawn GP. The team, with Jenson Button and Rubens Barrichello driving, went on to dominate the 2009 F1 season before being sold off again in 2010 to Mercedes — becoming the Mercedes-AMG Petronas F1 team we know today.
Despite only existing for one season, Brawn GP is an interesting yarn — one Reeves now seems to be spinning for Disney+. Variety reports the series will have four parts, and that both Button and Barrichello are on board to talk. Luca di Montezemolo, formerly of Ferrari, is similarly said to be on board — as well as Ross Brawn himself.
It’s unclear when the series will see the light of streaming day, but it likely won’t come for some time. If Reeves is currently undergoing principal photography, there’s still plenty of post-production and edits left to come. Still, getting Reeves’ charisma involved with an oddball Formula One story should make for an entertaining, informative series. Getting his fans involved in F1 stories, too, certainly would play well with the series’ current enthusiasm for non-automotive-specific streaming television audiences.