BMW's Formula One Split

By Feann Torr - 23/6/2005

The news is in. The BMW Williams F1 Team, for whom Australian Mark Webber and German Nick Heidfeld drive, will split.

In news that won't come as a huge shock to insiders - BMW has been mumbling and grumbling about its lack of podium finishes for a few years now - BMW has purchased the Swiss-based Sauber F1 team and will develop its own F1 outfit, and has hinted that it may even contest the Formula One World Championship as early as 2006.

The lack of success at BMW-WilliamsF1 is rumoured to have propagated a rift between BMW and Williams people, with finger pointing going on between both sides as to why the team has not experienced greater success.

BMW delivered a press release today that indicated the BMW Board of Management made the decision to split on Tuesday.

So for the first time in its history, BMW will be competing as an independent entity in Formula One, now developing the engines and chassis of its F1 cars, leaving Williams to presumably purchase new engines from another team, perhaps Toyota.

Professor Burkhard Göschel, BMW Board Member for Development and Purchasing had this to say:

"This decision is a strong, long-term affirmation of BMW's commitment to Formula One. We anticipate that Formula One will emerge strengthened from the current restructuring phase and that it will continue to represent the top echelon of motor sport for the future as well. For BMW, Formula One is thus the right platform for demonstrating our competence as a car manufacturer.

"Success in Formula One increasingly depends on the perfect interplay of all factors. That is why we have resolved to extend our involvement beyond our present role of engine partner. With a team managed by BMW we will, as of next year, take on responsibility for the entire package, which will include the key factors of the chassis, tyres and drivers.

"Naturally this decision impacts on our partnership with WilliamsF1. We want to discuss the future options together with WilliamsF1 in order to find the right way forward for both sides. We do not expect instant success from the new constellation, but we are convinced that we have chosen the right path for the long term," concluded Professor Göschel.

Dr Mario Theissen, BMW Motorsport Director, also gave his opinion on the massive change:

"The realignment of our Formula One strategy is based on two insights. Firstly, the influence of the engine on the winning potential of the overall package has diminished; the car, tyres 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.

"BMW will not only maintain this foundation but build on it. That applies both to the facilities and to the staff. Additional workplaces will be created at the Sauber headquarters in Hinwil. The new team will be managed as a fully integrated project from two locations, as has long been standard practice at BMW for series production.

"We are aware that we face a learning curve, that although you can plan success you can't buy it off the peg. After showing that BMW is capable of building the best Formula One engine, we are starting out as it were at apprenticeship level on the complex task of tackling the vehicle as a whole. That demands patience and stamina. We possess both, as well as a concrete work programme. The technical cooperation has already begun.

"In the partnership with WilliamsF1 we have celebrated successes together and taken the team forward. Both partners today are stronger than at the outset of our joint venture and are thus equipped for the future. What that future will look like will be decided over the next weeks. Irrespective of that decision, we are concentrating on the current season. We still have quite a few goals for this year and we will apply all our powers and professionalism to implement them together with WilliamsF1," finished D. Theissen.

The takeover of the Sauber team will be final on the 1st January 2006, where the BMW board will announce the new F1 team's name, key crew members/staff and of course the drivers.

Peter Sauber also chimed in:

"For Sauber, the partnership with BMW is an ideal solution as it supports the two goals which have always been paramount for me: firstly, to offer the team the possibility of improving their sporting performance, and secondly, to safeguard the site at Hinwil and the jobs of today's 300-strong workforce.

"The involvement of six car manufacturers has resulted in significant changes to Formula One in recent years. For the private teams in particular it has become increasingly difficult to secure the kind of solid financing that will also allow for sporting success. For some years I have also been thinking in terms of succession planning - in the light of the very specific demands of Formula One, that is no easy matter.

"The partnership with BMW guarantees continuity. For that reason, too, it represents an ideal solution, because I know it will give the workforce a very good outlook. Over more than 35 years, I have guided this company through often stormy seas, which is why it is so important for me to know that it will be in good hands in future as well," Sauber said.

Together with BMW's breakaway from Williams and the proposed rule changes to Formula One in 2008, that include one control tyre (not two as is the case at present), standardised brakes, no traction control and the resumption of the use of slicks, the future of F1 is more intriguing than ever.