BMW confirm shock Formula One exit

[david1275]

I hope this is not the flood gates about to open.

It is a real shame to lose such a big name from F1. I also wonder will they continue to be an engine supplier?

BMW confirmed this morning that they are to leave Formula One at the end of the season stating that the resources ‘freed up’ from its exit from the sport will be deployed in other areas. The German car maker took over the Sauber team in 2006 and has since gone on to record one victory.

“Of course, we, the employees in Hinwil and Munich, would all have liked to continue this ambitious campaign and show that this season was just a hiccup following three successful years,” said BMW Motorsport Director Mario Theissen. “But I can understand why this decision was made from a corporate perspective. We will now focus sharply on the remaining races and demonstrate our fighting spirit and put in a good result as we bid farewell to Formula One racing.”

The current season has been a struggle for the Hinwil-based team with Nick Heidfeld and Robert Kubica 13th and 15th in the championship respectively.

The team had expected to challenge for the championship this year having recorded its first win with Kubica behind the wheel last year in Montreal.

However the F1.09 has not proved competitive and despite the various aerodynamic updates, remains one of the slower cars in the field.

“It only took us three years to establish ourselves as a top team with the BMW Sauber F1 Team,” began Board of Management member Dr. Klaus Draeger. “Unfortunately, we were unable to meet expectations in the current season. 
 
Nevertheless, our ten years of Formula One experience have had a major impact on our development engineers. We have racing to thank for numerous technological innovations as well as the competitive spirit that drives us to develop mass-produced cars.”

The team stated that redundancies at both Hinwil and Munich “cannot be quantified at present.”

It is expected that the signing of the long-awaited Concorde Agreement, the legal document that ties the teams with the sport’s governing body and the commercial rights holder, will be completed shortly.

However, this makes the coming days critical for the sport as rumours persist that BMW may not be the only car-maker looking at its option before agreeing to remain in the sport until the end of the 2012 season.

Ongoing speculation suggests that both Toyota and Renault are considering their future in the sport, speculation that will only be heightened by BMW’s surprise announcement today.

Earl ALEXANDER
© CAPSIS International

[cosworth151]

While I expected this from Toyota, I never dreamed that BMW would pull a Palin in F1. I have to wonder how much F1's withdrawal from the manufacturer's major markets had to do with the decision.

Peter Sauber has years of practice at running a team on a small budget. Hopefully he can do it again.

[Jericoke]

It's certainly frustrating that BMW felt the need to join all of the drama with FOTA, hold the sport over a barrel, and then quit.

My boycott of BMW products will continue.  Well, not so much a boycott, as a price point... ;-)

[Dare]

Could another team get their spot if Sauber
doesn't remain in F1

And I wonder if Peter Sauber sold the rights to
the Sauber name to BMW and would have to buy them back

[Scott]

Since Swiss law is pretty strict on the way companies treat their employees when they shut down (as long as they haven't gone bankrupt - which I don't think BMW can claim, the cheapest route out of the sport would be to hand the team to someone who can keep it afloat.  Dickering over the Sauber name would be a stupid play for them.

[Jericoke]

Since Swiss law is pretty strict on the way companies treat their employees when they shut down (as long as they haven't gone bankrupt - which I don't think BMW can claim, the cheapest route out of the sport would be to hand the team to someone who can keep it afloat.  Dickering over the Sauber name would be a stupid play for them.

I'm sure BMW could get the team into bankruptcy pretty quickly.  Certainly they're not turning a profit, or this wouldn't be a consideration.

I do hope that Sauber resumes the team though.  It would be nice to see a Brawn-esque bump, though I don't think BMW has started on next year's car yet...

[Dare]

It would be hard for BMW to claim money problems
when they continue in other motor sports series

[SennaMan]

BMW leaving, I for one applaud it and now we have only got RENAULT and TOYOTA to go as well and end what has become farcical tenures - but at least RENAULT got it right a few times; the only manufacturer in the past decade who has.

Anyone fondly remember FORD's foray with The JAGUAR F1 Team? I cringe whenever I consider their hopeless attampts at running their cars let alone the team. [FERRARI is, and always has been, a special case]

Car manufacturers have no claim to own F1 teams; their hearts rightly belong elsewhere.

To be a top F1 team you need a passion for the sport that is a singular and focussed obsession.

The sooner TOYOTA and RENAULT leave the better.

They could do a "PORSCHE" and find a niche in other forms of motor sport such as LMES or GRAND TOURING; racing that suits their product lines.

Leave F1 to those who are dedicated to it.

[Scott]

I'm sure BMW could get the team into bankruptcy pretty quickly.  Certainly they're not turning a profit, or this wouldn't be a consideration.

Acutally Jeri, here you can't just throw a company in bankrupcy willy-nilly like they do in NA.  When the company is associated with, and gets the majority of its' funding from another company, it cannot become bankrupt unless the mother company has gone bankrupt as well (which BMW clearly hasn't).  It is dealt more like a downsizing, requiring massive severance payouts to employees (sometimes multi-year payouts).  It wouldn't be too hard for a Swiss judge to prove that Hinwil received most of its cash from BMW.  The cheapest way for them to exit the stage would be to hand it back to Peter Sauber or someone else who could continue to fund it.  The only problem is that most of Sauber's original backers have left the sport, so he would have a tall mountain to climb to bring the team into the black if he did take over (unless he could come up with some sort of long term major sponsorship deal with BMW as they leave).

[Jericoke]

BMW leaving, I for one applaud it and now we have only got RENAULT and TOYOTA to go as well and end what has become farcical tenures - but at least RENAULT got it right a few times; the only manufacturer in the past decade who has.

Anyone fondly remember FORD's foray with The JAGUAR F1 Team? I cringe whenever I consider their hopeless attampts at running their cars let alone the team. [FERRARI is, and always has been, a special case]

Car manufacturers have no claim to own F1 teams; their hearts rightly belong elsewhere.

To be a top F1 team you need a passion for the sport that is a singular and focussed obsession.

The sooner TOYOTA and RENAULT leave the better.

They could do a "PORSCHE" and find a niche in other forms of motor sport such as LMES or GRAND TOURING; racing that suits their product lines.

Leave F1 to those who are dedicated to it.

Ford didn't do an adequate job running Jaguar.  The costs of F1 sky rocketted just as Ford got in, and they never spent more than they planned to.  I wonder perhaps if the perception that Ford's 'deep pockets' scared the big teams into becoming bigger? 

In many ways, the FIA is right that Ferrari is basically pricing everyone else out of the sport.  Ferrari has the most to gain by winning, and each penny spent is effectively advertising their sports cars.  It's just not true for any other team (although McLaren is working on it!). 

If you take Toyota and Renault out, you're left with Ferrari, McLaren and Red Bull.  That's not a championship, and if Christian Horner ever gets bored, you're looking at a spec series.

Until this problem is solved, Toyota and Renault (and BMW and Honda) are needed!

If passion was all it took, why didn't Minardi, Jordan, Arrows, Stewart, Prost, Ligier ever make a mark?

[Dare]

Jag came from Stewart Racing and they did fairly well
in the short time they were in F1.

[cosworth151]

Ford/Cosworth is second only to Ferrari in number of wins, and Ferrari's been at it for 20 more seasons.

[david1275]

We are still winning at the end of the day Cos

[cosworth151]

We are still winning at the end of the day Cos

Just wait until next year!

(Being a Cleveland Indians fan, I've said that all my life!  )

[Jericoke]

The question of the future of the BMW engine remains.

Will BMW become a supplier?

Will BMW shutter the plant completely, a la Honda?

Will they sell the designs, a la Renault/Mechachrome?

I hear that Cosworth doesn't have a mondern Formula One engine.  I wouldn't put it past Max to force a marriage betweeen Cosworth and BMW's engine design.