BMW in Formula One
The BMW Sauber F1 Team was a German Formula 1 racing team and the work team of the automobile manufacturer BMW. It was represented from 2006 to 2009 in the highest class of motorsports and emerged from the Swiss team Sauber predecessor. Headquarters and production site was Hinwil in Switzerland, the engines were made in Munich. According to the 2009 season, BMW withdrew from Formula 1 and sold his shares of 80 percent of the team to the original owner, Peter Sauber.
BMW had already occurred in the 1980s as an engine supplier in Formula 1. With Nelson Piquet and the Brabham - BMW team in 1983 World Cup - the first in the turbo era. Retrial was this commitment about 15 years later, when BMW from 2000 to 2005, Williams supplied with motors. See also BMW Motorsport.
History
BMW took over on 1 January 2006 the majority of the former team of Peter Sauber and thus founded his own works team. The name "Clean " was thereby further left in the team name. Also the Hinwil of the former Sauber team has been retained and incorporated most of the Sauber team. Peter Sauber was the BMW Sauber F1 Team continued to work as a consultant.
BMW had separated after the 2005 season from the previous partner and Williams leads his Formula 1 activities now continued with his own team.
As the first driver Nick Heidfeld has been committed from the previous partnership with Williams. The second driver, the team confirmed the former Sauber driver and World Champion Jacques Villeneuve, 1997 December 1, 2005. Test driver for the team was Robert Kubica. The Pole took over the Hungarian Grand Prix, the control of Villeneuve and denied all the remaining races of the 2006 season. During his debut Kubica was disqualified because his car was two kilograms too easy. The team thus lost seventh place and two championship points. Nick Heidfeld came in third place and so celebrated the first podium finish of the young team. After this race, the current contract has been resolved with Villeneuve with immediate effect by mutual consent and used Kubica for the other races as second driver.
On September 10, 2006 drove the BMW Sauber F1 Team Robert Kubica at the Italian Grand Prix in Monza again on the podium. Team-mate Nick Heidfeld finished in eighth place and got another championship point for the team. With a good performance in qualifying, the driver of the BMW Sauber F1 Team had laid the foundation for good race result. Heidfeld placed himself third in the second row, Kubica was sixth in the race. During his first season, the BMW Sauber F1 Team 2006 drove a total of 15 times in the points. With 36 World Cup points, the team finished fifth in the constructors' championship.
During the season, test and reserve driver Sebastian Vettel left the team to replace at Toro Rosso from the Hungarian Grand Prix team driver Scott Speed .
In the F1.08 chassis used for the 2008 season, there was an evolution of the previous model F1.07.
The first race of the 2008 season was Nick Heidfeld finish in second place. Robert Kubica, who had scored a sensational second place in qualifying, the race had to end prematurely after a collision with Williams driver Kazuki Nakajima. In the second race of the 2008 season, the BMW Sauber F1 Team confirmed this result and finished with Robert Kubica again to second place. In qualifying for the third race of the season in Bahrain their first pole position in Formula won the BMW Sauber F1 Team Robert Kubica 1 The race ended the BMW Sauber F1 Team Robert Kubica Nick Heidfeld on rank 3 and rank 4 on order moved the team in the constructors' championship thanks to his consistency for the first time provisionally on the 1st place before.
On June 8, 2008 at the Grand Prix of Canada in Montreal, Robert Kubica scored the first Formula 1 victory for the BMW Sauber F1 Team. Second was Nick Heidfeld. The team finished the season as third in the constructors' championship with 135 points.
In the 2009 season, the team was unable to build on the strong prior-year performance and brought in the first ten races (up to the Hungarian Grand Prix ), only eight points. On 29 July 2009, BMW announced, the phase-out of Formula 1 at the end of the racing season 2009.
On September 15, 2009 BMW announced that they had reached with the first as " a resident of Switzerland Foundation " advertised Qadbak Investments Ltd. an agreement on the sale of the BMW Sauber F1 Team. A few days later came Qadbak Investments Ltd, which is in reality is a registered in the Virgin Islands society and has already caused with the purchase of the English football club Notts County a stir because of the uncertainty about the origin of the money and a from the officers of the Qadbak Investments Ltd dismounted prison sentence for insurance fraud in the negative headlines. According to media reports was unclear whether the sale of the BMW Sauber F1 Team to Qadbak Investments Ltd. was ever concluded. Also there were doubts as to the authenticity of the said Qadbak Investments Ltd names of investors. Peter Trembling and Russell King, director or authorized signatory of Qadbak Investments Ltd tried to take over a similar manner already some four years earlier by means of registered Jersey and now in liquidation " Belgravia Group" the former team Jordan as well as the English football club Newcastle United.
On 27 November 2009, BMW announced that Peter Sauber bought the team - under the condition that the team has a starting place for the Formula 1 2010 season. The announced in September 2009 sale to Qadbak was therefore not completed. The agreement with Peter Sauber saw among other things, a workforce reduction of 388 to around 250 jobs.
On 3 December 2009, the former BMW Sauber F1 Team was confirmed by the FIA as a participant for the 2010 season. The withdrawal of Toyota Racing was a place become vacant. The team of Peter Sauber was thus represented in the 2010 season in the starting field and initially reported under the previous name BMW Sauber F1 Team. The name change took place in the course of the season.