After failing to find a suitable buyer for the F1 team it acquired just four years ago, BMW has sold the team back to its founder, Peter Sauber. As much as we love to drive a 3-series, BMW’s departure from F1 has left a sour taste in our mouth. Very un-Munich, to say the least.
Earlier in this decade, BMW partnered with Williams and came up with one of the strongest engines in F1. Suffice to say, the chassis from Grove just wasn’t quick enough. Despite having a top-flight lump, BMW did not win a championship and had to settle for race victories and a pair of second-place finishes in the constructor’s standings.
Frank Williams refused to cede control of the team to BMW, and the couple divorced in 2005. BMW promptly acquired Sauber, at the time a very good second-tier F1 team run (uniquely) from Switzerland. Peter Sauber is a sober, cigar-chomping Swiss with a racer’s heart. This is the guy who put a very young Michael Schumacher in a Mercedes sports car for Le Mans. But, being Swiss and therefore efficient, Sauber read the writing on the wall. A sale to BMW gave Sauber a nice retirement, full of raclette and Cuban stogies.
Even though BMW started with small expectations, the team never experienced the kind of success it hoped for. A three-year plan was developed, from newbie to world champion. In the event, things did not go as planned. Driver selection was spotty–Nick Heidfeld is a capable driver but he will never be a world champion. The choice of Robert Kubica was inspired. Kubica is one of the grittiest drivers on the grid and is unafraid of anything (witness his huge shunt at the Canadian Grand Prix in 2007). The cars were immaculate, the presentation complete. But, in light of its resources, the team underperformed.
Wins finally came, but the board grew impatient. In 2008, development was halted in order to begin work on the 2009 challenger. This irritated Kubica who felt (rightly) that BMW was giving up on his shot at the championship. Perhaps BMW grew frustrated with the endless political wars between the FIA (read: Max Mosley) and FOTA (read: manufacturers). Mosley’s personal sex scandal did not help matters. BMW also felt the FIA was “dumbing down” F1 in the interests of cost-saving. This was inconsistent with BMW’s reason for entering the sport in the first place.
Suddenly, in July 2009, BWM announced its departure. The stated rationale seemed paper thin: the company was to focus on its “green” credentials and F1 did not aid in that effort. Many in the paddock thought this smacked of bullshit, and BMW was called out.
We viewed BMW’s departure as the actions of a company smarting over its lack of instant success. Perhaps team principal Dr. Mario Thiessen had misled the board into thinking that race wins would be more frequent by this point. Perhaps the economy, politics, and various F1 scandals led BWM to conclude that F1 no longer delivered the necessary return on investment.
Whatever the reason, after great fanfare in 2005, BMW quit F1 in 2009. Peter Sauber tried to buy back his team, but the terms were onerous and he backed away. A reported sale to the Qadbak investment group was touted, yet it quickly evaporated. When allegations of past chicanery emerged about Qadbak’s managment, many wondered how BWM had missed the mark so badly. The sale of the team seemed bungled and chaotic, compared with Honda’s more orderly depature from the sport.
Peter Sauber taking control of his old team is a win-win for F1 and the team. The factory and race team will continue on, albeit slightly smaller. Racing will still continue in Switzerland, which (for some odd reason) we like. BMW’s investment in infrastructure is certain to aid the team down the road. Peter Sauber could not have done this on his own.
The irony is that BWM, like Honda, could find itself having withdrawn from F1 just as its investment begins to bear fruit.
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