Ross Brawn, the British technical and tactical genius who steered Michael Schumacher to a record seven world championships, was this morning confirmed as the new owner of the Honda Formula One team, putting Jenson Button back on the grid for the new season.

Brawn has taken total control of the team, to be known as Brawn GP, and his first action was to confirm that Button and veteran Brazilian Rubens Barrichello would drive Mercedes-powered cars in the opening round of the 2009 title chase in Australia on 29 March.

The move ends weeks of speculation surrounding the Honda team and their 700 employees following the shock announcement in December that parent company, the giant Honda car concern in Japan, was quitting Formula One as a result of the global financial crisis.

Brawn, who admitted he faced a "challenging" future, is believed to have sunk some of his own multi-million pound fortune, built up over a 30-year career in F1, into the new team.

Honda are also understood to have made a one-off contribution to running costs of £80million, less than they would have had to pay as a 'fine' for suddenly leaving the pit lane and the cost of wholesale redundancies.

Brawn has also been given up to £30m as an advance on television rights earnings for 2009, and Button, who was testing the new car at Silverstone today, is believed to have agreed to halve his retainer to help finance the new operation.

Brawn, 54, said: "The journey ahead will be challenging but exciting. The vast experience and knowledge that Jenson and Rubens bring to our team will prove invaluable as we aim to get up to speed in the shortest possible time."