BREAKING: BMW will leave Formula 1 at the end of the season
It looks like the rumor was true after all. Munich-based BMW, has officially announced that it will leave the pinnacle of motorsport at the end this season. The decision was revealed at an emergency press conference, held a while ago in Munich, Germany.
The team will continue racing in the remaining seven races of the current season. This will result in massive job cuts (about 730 employees), both in Munich and in Hinwil, Switzerland, where the team is still based, after the auto maker purchased it from Peter Sauber back in 2005. Peter Sauber is now a consultant with the team.
Mario Theissen, team principal revealed, “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.” “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,” he added.
Dr. Klaus Draeger of BMW’s Board of Management said, “It only took us three years to establish ourselves as a top team with the BMW Sauber F1 Team.” He also mentioned, “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 main reason for this decision was not our current performance in Formula One racing or the general economic situation. It was solely the company’s strategic realignment,” Draeger added. The auto maker will now focus on the development of new drive technologies and projects in the field of sustainability.
Formula 1 boss, Bernie Ecclestone told BBC that BMW give itself the objective of winning the World Championship in three years, but that did not happen. He also added, “When you consider how much money they’ve spent and the results they’ve got, it’s probably not such a good investment. They were quite sure that they were going to win the championship within three years, and I was hoping they would.”
The auto maker had its own team between 1952 and 1953, when it raced in seven events. In 2000, BMW partnered with WilliamsF1 and went on to bag 10 wins. BMW then increased its involvement, by owning its own team again, after acquiring Sauber in 2005. For the past two years, the team performed well with its top three results in the Constructor’s Championship. However, the team is not really performing up to expectation this season, with eight points thus far.
Both Robert Kubica and Nick Heidfeld will have to look for different race seats for the 2010 season. The team also has Christian Klien as it’s test driver. The team’s main sponsor, Petronas will now have to look for another team to sponsor, since it highly regards its Formula 1 involvement. However, there is also a possibility that the team will be sold to a new owner, like what happened to the Honda Formula 1 team, when it was sold to Ross Brawn earlier this year, who turned the outfit into a front running team.
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