BMW to leave Formula One at end of 2009

[axle]

Hopefully the team/entity that is BMW F1 will remain in F1 under new ownership.

[James_graham]

thought people would post! Hmm the FIA did mention a short list (the one lola pulled out of!) so I'm guessing prodrive are still on there! not sure who else is but they did say 26 cars next year!

[ESPImperium]

Prodrive or iSport would be my guess, if a Brawn dosnt come out of the asshes of BMW Sauber.

The FIA need to realease the shortlist tho. And could a team be brought togehter in the short time we have till the 2010 season???

[i70q7m7ghw]

The FIA need to realease the shortlist tho. And could a team be brought togehter in the short time we have till the 2010 season???

It would be a struggle, my bet is someone will buy up the BMW Sauber team, the only question mark is over what Peter Sauber wants to do with his share.

[ESPImperium]

Could this be Konninsegg/Sabbs say into F1 as they have been looking into F1???

Also VW may also want to take a look into F1 as well with this proposistion.

[James_graham]

Not bad really seen as I would have tought the BMW facilities are pretty good. It depends what they want ot do with the facilities! ie are they pulling out and going into something like Le Mans or are they selling the F1 team

[bidong]

I guess the best thing to happen is for Adrian Newey to leave Red Bull. Start his own team, call it NeweyGP. then start a new Formula called Formula Zero with BrawnGP.

(hope no one takes me seriously)

[xpensive]

It's just that a family company shelling out hundreds of MEUR just get out of F1 doesen't make sense. Surely, the team will simply be handed back to Peter Sauber and/or Ned Flanders together with a dozen re-badged long-life engines, all for a token sum of money.

I am certain they learned something from the Honda disaster, when it cost them more to go than to stay.

[zgred]

Epsilon Euskadi interested in BMW slot - this way or another I think there will be 13 teams on the 2010 grid.

[WhiteBlue]

This is a sad day. BMW has taken the same decision as Honda and will not supply engines.

Although he was not interested when interviewed some months ago (at the age of 66) Peter Sauber is widely expected to continue the team.

The decision is a surprise but one has to say that to a large degree it was caused by the chaotic politics of F1. BMW had the promise by the FIA that issues like environmental sustainebility and road relevance would be pursued. The politics of FOTA have ruined that aproach. The FiA decision to allow DDDs has distorted the 2009 championship and have put the team into a position where success was not possible any more.

It is expected that Toyota will follow BMW's exit very soon. Congratulations to FOTA for destroying Formula 1!

[James_graham]

I don't entirly agree with that! THe DDD is a technical innovation that people didn't think of! Something Tells me that outlawing such a thing would be pandering to the teams who want something banned because they all didn't think about it!

I don't think it is just FOTA. BMW wanted to win in three years which unfortunately isn't something you can just come and throw money at and win. IE what honda tried to do.

Road relevance is trickey as aroad car anf formula 1 car aren't compatible and to make them so would be a fundemental change in F1. Technology should go from f1 into other forms of motorsport and then gradually go into road cars

BMW have been spending lots of money and set a target to win and they haven't managed to do that!

[Chaparral]

James I tend to agree with you to an extent and expect Toyota will not be far behind the BMW exit - and if rumours are correct the Renault team will go to the Russian guy - so the lay of the land will be very much different to today - lets hope the racing doesnt suffer too much - so do we have 26 cars on the grid in 2010 as announced a few weeks back - obviously not - will we have 20 cars - I dont think so..................

[xpensive]

I can agree with WB that the FIA-politics around the DDD, when a hole all of a sudden was not a hole anymore, screwed up this season completely, punishing the naive rule-followers.

But I see absolutely no reason to blame FOTA, the only voice of sanity in that mad world.

Now surely Renault and Toyota will go, learning from honda's mistake and passing ovr the teams for a plate of beans rather than shutting down.

The cars will surely be there next year but which serious owners/managers?

[mike]

i dont like to sound like "i told u so"
but i never like the team who would just abandon a successful racing team to pursue to become its own.
BMW should have just went the Mclaren Mercedes formula and try to find a way to buy in Williams, instead of a Ferrari B team.
Their failure is due to they treating F1 as a bussiness rather than a place to race. They put their heads and money with this "formula" money+great engine+ consistant drivers= success.
Where Mclaren and Williams finds way to get money to race. BMW put money in to expect success.
Mclaren, Ferrari and Williams etc great teams all started out with 1 idea, to race and to win. Money, sponsor and all that boring stuff is all the necessity for them to continue racing/winning.
I want teams in F1 to be there because they want to race not because they want more money.

road relevance is important, but great racing is more important. if all team are in there only for the technological benefit than we might as well read all the testing times and dont bother with the racing. I'm not saying that i dont want F1 to be road relevent is just that teams must be in F1 to race, because F1 is never going to be as road relevent, only in the new R&D part, which all manufacturers are doing it anyway.
When you think about producing 1 million cars compared to 2-5 cars a year not everything is transversible with F1 and road cars.

[MegaHurts]

BMW (or anyone else) leaving has nothing to do with FIA/FOTA/DDD/the bushiness of Marios tache/whatever. The manufactureres are in F1 to sell more cars, team does well and more cars sell then great, team does crap and more cars sell then great, team does well or crap and less cars sell then they pull out. There doesn't need to be any other reason.