BMW to leave F1 at the end of 2009 - Confirmed

[hannibal_rising]

FOTA vow to save BMW Sauber

http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/77406

Should we buy the team just as Brawn bought Honda??? why not?

[Earth]

FOTA vow to save BMW Sauber

http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/77406

Should we buy the team just as Brawn bought Honda??? why not?

I hope too And next year will be fighting for the title.

[phil1993]

Heidfeld surprised by BMW exit

Nick Heidfeld has revealed that he had no prior knowledge about BMW's decision to withdraw from Formula 1 at the end of the year, following the company's announcement on Wednesday.

The German, who has driven for the BMW Sauber team since its inception in 2006, and who drove for Williams when it was powered by BMW engines in the year prior to that, told his website that the news had come as a complete surprise to him.

"BMW's decision no longer to compete in Formula 1 was totally unexpected," he said. "I feel very sorry for the members of the team with whom it has been my privilege to work over the years.

"I would like to thank all of them for their tremendous support and for everything we have achieved together."

The 32-year-old added that he was determined to continue racing in F1 and was negotiating with other teams.

"I'm not going to lose sight of my ambition to reach the top in Formula 1," he said. I'll be doing my best to support the team and ensure that we get the best possible finish to the season.

"As far as my personal future is concerned, we'll now be continuing discussions under these changed circumstances."

Right, so we buy BMW, rebadge it as F1Zone Sauber Team and then sign Heidfeld and try and keep Kubica on

[Zack]

I m shocked by this news ..

and hope somehow original team to continue ...

[shailf1]

Heidfeld surprised by BMW exit

Nick Heidfeld has revealed that he had no prior knowledge about BMW's decision to withdraw from Formula 1 at the end of the year, following the company's announcement on Wednesday.

The German, who has driven for the BMW Sauber team since its inception in 2006, and who drove for Williams when it was powered by BMW engines in the year prior to that, told his website that the news had come as a complete surprise to him.

"BMW's decision no longer to compete in Formula 1 was totally unexpected," he said. "I feel very sorry for the members of the team with whom it has been my privilege to work over the years.

"I would like to thank all of them for their tremendous support and for everything we have achieved together."

The 32-year-old added that he was determined to continue racing in F1 and was negotiating with other teams.

"I'm not going to lose sight of my ambition to reach the top in Formula 1," he said. I'll be doing my best to support the team and ensure that we get the best possible finish to the season.

"As far as my personal future is concerned, we'll now be continuing discussions under these changed circumstances."

Right, so we buy BMW, rebadge it as F1Zone Sauber Team and then sign Heidfeld and try and keep Kubica on

we need to get a different driver for friday, kubica moans too much on fridays..

[phil1993]

I m shocked by this news ..

and hope somehow original team to continue ...

With Icy and yours and Ali's money... team F1Zone Sauber team... find a sponsor... get people to donate to have their face on the car (like RBR did 2 years ago at Silverstone) operate with a £30m budget

Team Owner: Iceman
Team Principal: phil1993
Technical director: Zack
Press officer: Ali
Cleaner: TA

[TwistedArmco]

Oi. I can be.. er.. team historian??

[Ali]

I m shocked by this news ..

and hope somehow original team to continue ...

With Icy and yours and Ali's money... team F1Zone Sauber team... find a sponsor... get people to donate to have their face on the car (like RBR did 2 years ago at Silverstone) operate with a £30m budget

Team Owner: Iceman
Team Principal: phil1993
Technical director: Zack
Press officer: Ali
Cleaner: TA

Only press officer? Such a low profile for me

///

Anon from Times Online brings forth an interesting aspect on why BMW might decide to pull the plug:

Ecclestone came and blamed it on the fact that they did not win the championship in the three years they gave themselves to do so. He's right; of course if BMW were winning the championship they wouldn't quit.

But Bernie knows (hopefully) that he is far from innocent. Don't be tempted into thinking that BMW are "quitters" and that Bernie did everything he could.

Bernie managed, in his infinite wisdom, to have the Formula One circus not go to North America (i.e. Canada, the U.S.). This was bad enough and unless my memory fails me, BMW did issue some concerns about that. They were given the customary response from the F1 powers: they were ignored.

There was the loss of France as well. But more importantly, the German GP is in doubt for next year. Hockenheim say they can't host it anymore and the Nurburgring say they will not host it as well. For BMW, F1 was bringing nothing to them in the North American sector and they faced not even having a home race.

So Bernie isn't exactly blameless here. His chaotic management of races (the word "management" is a kind overstatement here) managed to drop races in countries that were huge for BMW. I don't know much about BMW's car sales (I tried looking for statistics but failed), but I'm quite sure that there are more BMW sales in the United States than in the Kingdom of Bahrain. Let's not even mention their sales in Germany compared to those of some other remote country which Bernie brought to the F1 table.

Code: Select all

http://timesonline.typepad.com/formula_one/2009/07/the-consequences-of-failure.html

[phil1993]

Oi. I can be.. er.. team historian??

Ha ha, the easy job because there wouldn't be any history

Nah, you can be my No.2 The Nick Fry to the Ross Brawn and Alios can be the random guy from the team that goes up to the podium

[Zack]

I m shocked by this news ..

and hope somehow original team to continue ...

With Icy and yours and Ali's money... team F1Zone Sauber team... find a sponsor... get people to donate to have their face on the car (like RBR did 2 years ago at Silverstone) operate with a £30m budget

Team Owner: Iceman
Team Principal: phil1993
Technical director: Zack
Press officer: Ali
Cleaner: TA

< I can arrange upto $5m to $10m from TATA but for that we have to get Narain Karthikeyan ..may be Middle-East Driver can fetch more Youngest Team; Youngest Technical director; epic >

I'll be back with my F1ZONE BMW Avatar soon ... I LOVE BMW Road cars

[iceman1]

Cleaner: TA

Awsome

The FIA regrets the announcement of BMW’s intended withdrawal from Formula One but is not surprised by it.

It has been clear for some time that motor sport cannot ignore the world economic crisis. Car manufacturers cannot be expected to continue to pour large sums of money into Formula One when their survival depends on redundancies, plant closures and the support of the taxpayer.

This is why the FIA prepared regulations to reduce costs drastically. These measures were needed to alleviate the pressure on manufacturers following Honda's withdrawal but also to make it possible for new teams to enter.

Had these regulations not been so strongly opposed by a number of team principals, the withdrawal of BMW and further such announcements in the future might have been avoided.

Nevertheless, as a result of a sustained cost-cutting campaign by the FIA, new measures are in the process of being agreed which should make it easier for new teams to enter and enable existing ones to participate on much reduced budgets.

It is no secret that these measures do not go as far as the FIA would have liked but a compromise was needed in the interests of harmony in the sport. Hopefully it will be enough to prevent further withdrawals and provide a solid foundation for Formula One.

As the guardian of the sport, the FIA is committed to ensuring that Formula One remains financially sustainable for all competing teams and it will always act to ensure that this remains the case.

http://www.fia.com/en-GB/mediacentre/pr ... 1_bmw.aspx

Ferrari fan's welcome BMW Refugees

[Jaguar]

Its really Shocking news for me ... just like when Jaguar left F1 tho Jag didn't do any gr8 or surprising results in F1 unlike BMW ...
I wonder now if Nick will go to Force India or maybe some new team

Okay so now we might have a Todt GP/Racing or MS GP/Racing ... Shouldn't Prodrive buy the team ? he has been crying why his team was not accepted lately ...

[dazmoffman]

thats a shame, i cant say im really surprised as there performance has not been very competative far a very long time for a company as big as BMW is, and if i were the owners of BMW i would demand excellent performance that the staff/team have failed to deliver so yes to cut costs i would also pull out of F1.
poor kubica i thought a year ago he stood a chance of winning in the 2009 season.

[iceman1]

Sauber not about to retake team ownership

Peter Sauber on Wednesday played down hopes he might simply step back in and resume leadership of his Swiss-based Formula One team.

The 65-year-old, who sold his Hinwil-based outfit to BMW at the end of 2005, said he fears the Munich manufacturer's withdrawal from Formula One could mean the closure of the team.

"I respect and accept the decision but am still finding it hard to digest," Sauber, who retains a 20 percent shareholding of the team he founded in 1993, told the German news agency DPA.



It has been suggested that Sauber could now step back in and resume running the outfit as a privateer, but the Swiss played down that prospect.

"The position we are in now makes it very difficult," he said without elaborating.

[phil1993]

Sauber working on rescue deal

Former team principal Peter Sauber is believed to be working alongside BMW motorsport director Mario Theissen to secure a rescue package for the BMW Sauber Formula 1 team, following the German manufacturer's decision to withdraw from the sport at the end of the season.

Sauber, who sold the team in 2005 to BMW following more than 25 years as a racing car constructor in F1 and sports prototypes, told a hastily convened press conference in Switzerland that he had vowed to do all he could to save the jobs of his former employees.

"I will do everything humanly possible," Sauber was quoted on Bild's website as saying. "I can't do wonders and I certainly do not want to be team boss on the pitwall again.

"The problem is that time is short and we need to find a solution quickly."

Citing a similar situation to the one faced by Honda, where Ross Brawn and Nick Fry brought together a financial deal to safe-keep what became the Brawn GP team, Sauber said the final decision remained with BMW's board of directors.

"I've told all my people that I will use all my contacts, but I can't guarantee anything. I am an advisor to BMW but ultimately only they can decide how to drive it forward."

Sauber told the press conference that offers of investment had already been received for a potential rescue package and that he had forwarded these to BMW.

"The best solution would be a Ross Brawn-type solution at Honda," he said. "You need at least ten years to amass a team which can produce a F1 car to the level required and if we let this team fall apart the chances are that Switzerland will never again have such an opportunity."

Sauber, who retains a 20 per cent shareholding in the team, remained confident a solution could be found to keep the Hinwil-based squad in F1, adding: "I must add that in my 17 years in F1 I have solved bigger problems."

http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/77496