BMW Purchases Sauber F1 Team
06-25-05, 05:18 AM
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BMW Purchases Sauber F1 Team
BMW has taken a big step toward securing its future in Formula 1 after announcing on June 22 that it has purchased a majority shareholding in the Swiss-based Sauber team.
BMW has been in the sport as an engine supplier since the earlier 1980s. Its 1.5-liter turbocharged four-cylinder engines were a considerable force to be reckoned with from 1982 to 1987, producing 1400 hp at their highest stage of development. BMW powered Nelson Piquet to a World Championship with the Brabham team in 1983.
BMW left the sport between 1987 and 1997, when it returned as an engine supplier for the Williams F1 squad with a 3.0-liter V-10 unit. Since then they have been a regular contender for the championship, thwarted only by Ferrari's recent run of huge success with Michael Schumacher.
Peter Sauber started out building sports cars in the 1970s and became the Mercedes-Benz works team in the World Sports Car Championship in the late '80s, winning Le Mans in 1989 and two successive World Sports Car Championships in 1989-90 before moving up to F1 in 1993. Sauber has been the most successful privately owned team, and has been running in recent years with customer Ferrari engines.
Now BMW will have total control of its destiny with the purchase of Sauber. BMW Motorsport director Dr. Mario Thiessen said, "The realignment of our Formula 1 strategy is based on two insights. Firstly, the influence of the engine on the winning potential of the overall package has diminished; the car, tires, and drivers play a greater role than they used to. Secondly, from our point of view, an optimal overall package can only be achieved with a fully integrated team and coherent processes throughout.
"In restructuring we are taking account of these insights. At Sauber we have found a solid foundation for vehicle development and production, along with the requisite know-how and one of the most modern wind tunnels. The results achieved there so far are worthy of respect in the light of the team's limited budget."
The new team will maintain facilities both at the current Sauber headquarters in Hinwil, Switzerland, and in Munich, and will make its official on-track debut in 2006.
As for the Williams team, it has been offered customer BMW engines, but the likelihood is that it will try to arrange a deal with another manufacturer, Toyota having been rumored.
As the major manufacturers in F1 are increasingly unhappy with the current state of F1, particularly with the way the FIA creates and enforces its rules and the way Bernie Ecclestone distributes the money, they have threatened to start their own championship in 2008 once the current contract (known as the Concorde Agreement) between the teams and F1 expire. Recent events in Indianapolis have done nothing to calm the waters, and BMW's move to control its own destiny will stand it in good stead should the manufacturers decide to break out on their own. -John F. Gardner
source : thecarconnection
BMW has been in the sport as an engine supplier since the earlier 1980s. Its 1.5-liter turbocharged four-cylinder engines were a considerable force to be reckoned with from 1982 to 1987, producing 1400 hp at their highest stage of development. BMW powered Nelson Piquet to a World Championship with the Brabham team in 1983.
BMW left the sport between 1987 and 1997, when it returned as an engine supplier for the Williams F1 squad with a 3.0-liter V-10 unit. Since then they have been a regular contender for the championship, thwarted only by Ferrari's recent run of huge success with Michael Schumacher.
Peter Sauber started out building sports cars in the 1970s and became the Mercedes-Benz works team in the World Sports Car Championship in the late '80s, winning Le Mans in 1989 and two successive World Sports Car Championships in 1989-90 before moving up to F1 in 1993. Sauber has been the most successful privately owned team, and has been running in recent years with customer Ferrari engines.
Now BMW will have total control of its destiny with the purchase of Sauber. BMW Motorsport director Dr. Mario Thiessen said, "The realignment of our Formula 1 strategy is based on two insights. Firstly, the influence of the engine on the winning potential of the overall package has diminished; the car, tires, and drivers play a greater role than they used to. Secondly, from our point of view, an optimal overall package can only be achieved with a fully integrated team and coherent processes throughout.
"In restructuring we are taking account of these insights. At Sauber we have found a solid foundation for vehicle development and production, along with the requisite know-how and one of the most modern wind tunnels. The results achieved there so far are worthy of respect in the light of the team's limited budget."
The new team will maintain facilities both at the current Sauber headquarters in Hinwil, Switzerland, and in Munich, and will make its official on-track debut in 2006.
As for the Williams team, it has been offered customer BMW engines, but the likelihood is that it will try to arrange a deal with another manufacturer, Toyota having been rumored.
As the major manufacturers in F1 are increasingly unhappy with the current state of F1, particularly with the way the FIA creates and enforces its rules and the way Bernie Ecclestone distributes the money, they have threatened to start their own championship in 2008 once the current contract (known as the Concorde Agreement) between the teams and F1 expire. Recent events in Indianapolis have done nothing to calm the waters, and BMW's move to control its own destiny will stand it in good stead should the manufacturers decide to break out on their own. -John F. Gardner
source : thecarconnection
