BMW Set To Announce They Are Leaving F1

Wow, this is a shocker isn't it?!

Was a little expected with the way they were going on with their car development, i mean Renault dropped KERS and are now fighting at the front after a lot of updates and such. BMW did nothing.

Auf Wiedersehen!

With all these financial problems and such, would it be a good idea to allow one-car teams again to fill the field? Or for small teams to be able to get in (because it won't cost as much as running two cars), get some experience and then enter a second car after two years.

If anyone one else was to pull out Im pretty sure it would be Toyota before Renault!

Edit: Forget that [www.autosport.com]



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 07/29/2009 01:33PM by mika19b.

Now let's see if my prediction of Prodrive buying out the assets and arriving by the back door prove to be accurate.

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I smell a hint of Honda here, ala "Will not be missed"

Sauber have always been the team nobody particulary loves or dislikes. Always a 'meh' team. Always there but never quite able to do more. Steady progress in 2006, a better 2007 and an early championship charge in 08 scoring just one win on the way. Not bad. It was often the thought that Sauber needed money for that extra push and BMW provided it.

However this year has been a disaster with what I would call the worst car on the grid.

There has been no progress whatsoever. No evidence of them finding and fixing any issues. Just a complete joke. The once all powerful BMW engine has no doubt dropped in performance and reliability. Despite quick Nick finishing billions of races on the trot the engine is been piss poor. Like has been mentioned this does seem like they quickly, and very quickly got bored of losing. No doubt about it they replaced Honda this year as the joke of the field. Big money, Albert2 and a pathetic car with pathetic results. This would have been a decision in which the key people involved would not have had any power.

Hate to say but Max Mosley must be looking pretty happy with himself, something along the lines of, "I told you so!" and he did.

I feel sorry for the staff who are going to have a very difficult time. But there are a number of options like Prodrive and Epsilon. But if Honda struggled to sell a team with top-team resources and Ross Brawn I cant imagine how difficult it will be for BMW. Sauber were always steady but nothing more and dont have an Adrian Newey or anyone standout. I do hope they are sold/saved. I suspect Prodrive would like to do it but Hinwii(?) is not the most ideal location for a race team.

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"Trulli was slowing down like he wanted to have a picnic" LOL

Do Prodrive have the financial resources to buy BMW though? I very much doubt it.

@ Chet: It's Hinwil

They do have some bloody good facilities, so while it will cost more, it should be a more attractive buy than Honda were... location aside.

The bloke I feel most sorry for here is Peter Sauber. Ever the quiet gentlemen, he built up a through all the categories, getting bits of help here, and bits there. Ended up with a very solid if unspectacular F1 team, then BMW come along promising to take them to a level he never could... then within half a decade they've fecked off leaving everything he has done in peril. I'd be quite pissed right about now if I was him.

Thanks Nick ! Ermm tbh depending on how bad they want the sale, like Honda I doubt it would be expensive.

Gav - Ill never forget reading in F1racing that every christmas, no matter what Peter always gave every member of staff a christmas bonus, from the cleaner to the cheif mechanic.

As you say, BMW promised a long-term future, which is the reason Peter agreed the sale, however the F1 dudes who signed the deal/contract would not have been involved in the decision to withdraw. It would be some guy sitting behind a desk looking at at the expenses seeing this thing called F1 and thinking they could do without. He or she probably does not even know who drives for them !

Im sure BMW will do all they can to help like Honda did, and even maybe do what Honda did and fund the a year? However Honda pulled out seasons-end, this is mid-season and BMW may expect them to find a buyer before the end of the year.

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"Trulli was slowing down like he wanted to have a picnic" LOL

kubica to ferrari in 2010
joined by alonso in 2011

assuming massa doesnt come back and kimi retires at end of his contract

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Team CLR Wrote:
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> I hope Peter Sauber makes the team his own again,
> they never really set the world alight, but Sauber
> were my favourites.

yes, i hope so too! With the budget restrictions coming in a few years, i think Peter could run a very good team.


anyway, disappointing to see BMW go, particularly because they had great potential. They should have won the championship last year, and yet they focused on this year and couldn't even get a half-decent car. And even in Melbourne they were fairly good, and they couldn't keep up the development pace and fell back fast.

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X (@ed24f1)

chet Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Im sure BMW will do all they can to help like
> Honda did, and even maybe do what Honda did and
> fund the a year? However Honda pulled out
> seasons-end, this is mid-season and BMW may expect
> them to find a buyer before the end of the year.


SchueyFan Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> yes, i hope so too! With the budget restrictions
> coming in a few years, i think Peter could run a
> very good team.

Yeah, that seems a good way to go, I'd like to see Peter Sauber buy the team back, and have a year of BMW funding, and maybe BMW engines as well. Sauber's a pretty resourceful team boss, and although he sometimes failed to get bucketloads of sponsorship cash, I still reckon he's got some talent when it comes to running an F1 team. So this budget cap idea will play quite nicely towards him.

Didn't some of BMW's sponsors announce they were going, or have gone already? I know Credit Suisse have gone, and they had been sponsoring Sauber long before BWM came into the equation. Might have something to do with it and it does make me worry about Sauber's chances if BMW couldn't get attract any new sponsors. I don't know though, I am surprised and saddened that BMW are going (again) and I really hope that the team can be saved. I'd imagine that Heidfeld and Kubica will find new drives regardless. Heidfeld back to Williams, perhaps, if Rosberg leaves? I'd also imagine Kubica getting a top-drive, perhaps more easily than Heidfeld, but I hate to say it (partially because he's probably my favourite driver) but Kubica has had such an anonymous year this year since Melbourne. Heidfeld's appeared to have got much more out of the car and the races so far.

Peter Sauber returning with Pedro Paulo Diniz anyone?

Nick is 32 now but imo will far from struggle to get a new drive.

He should be top of the list for any new team, and yes maybe Williams again imo. As for Kubica, its more difficult imo... He would want a top line drive.

To me he has not displayed enough to warrant a top drive but I reckon he will be gunning for that Ferrari seat alongside Massa. If not I could see Brawn picking him up or even Renault to replace Alonso.

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"Trulli was slowing down like he wanted to have a picnic" LOL

zulu_85 Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Didn't some of BMW's sponsors announce they were
> going, or have gone already? I know Credit Suisse
> have gone, and they had been sponsoring Sauber
> long before BWM came into the equation.

yes, Credit Suisse and Dell left between 2008 and 2009, and Intel reduced their deal massively. They did pick up FxPro and GO-GP.ORG sponsorship though in early 2009.

Petronas would hopefully stay with Sauber if he did take over, as they had a long and succesful relationship with him in the 90s and early 00s. It would be great to see the blue and teal car on the grid again. They would have a few engine possibilities - BMW maybe, Ferrari again, even Cosworth if they are desperate.

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X (@ed24f1)

Few points of interest for me. Sad too see what is effectively Sauber, a team who i respect greatly for what they have done, and a man (peter Sauber) who has done nothing but help motorsport and driver development disapear.

Heidfeld - Retiring at the end of the season then, unless he gets offered a driver similar to Fisichellas at Force India and joins one of the new teams.

Kubica - Brawn GP? Renault? Mclaren??? Well i am just naming teams with a weak driver (or in Brawns case Rubens who i think may retire at the end of the season). I can see him moving on somewhere and doing well, the car this year has been his downfall and last year he prooved that he can race, and race with the best even if hey have a better car.

I feel you're overrating Heid-san there, Chetchenya. He's just a decent driver, nothing special about him.



Aston Martin BMW Racing Team anyone?

If Heidfeld is poor-to-average then one would have to consider that Kubica is plain awful. Unless he gets the right car of course....

But sure they'll all say that

I rate Kubica higher than Heidfeld, this is a bad season for BMW and apparently on a worse car Kubica suffers more. Anyway, Felipe x Robert just for the sake of it and because it's an awesome duel:

Well.....What now???
It seems we will only have 5 different engine manufacturers in Formula One.....Mercedes-Benz (with 4 teams), Ferrari, Renault, Toyota and Cosworth (with 3 teams).......Assuming Renault and Toyota don't pull out either, which is not at all unlikely........
Are we gonna end up with a spec series with half of the field running Mercedes-Benz engines and the other half with Cosworth engines, and a Ferrari powered team (Ferrari themselves of course)......WTF??????