Not proposing to find younger and younger drivers - Theissen

Since August 2006, Sebastian Vettel has been driving for the BMW Sauber F1 Team. The 19-year-old is one of the youngest drivers in FOrmula One racing and one of the most promising talented young drivers in Germany. BMW Motorsport Director Mario Theissen speaks about the strategy of the BMW Sauber F1 Team to discover and support young talents.

According to Theissen, the Formula BMW plays a major role in the development of young drivers, a series which is regarded as the most successful talent pool on the planet for good reasons. "Guys go there at the age of 15 or 16," Theissen explains. "We have quite a close relationship and we have them on our screen as they go up through the other formulae, so I think it's quite a successful approach to watch young drivers and to evaluate them. That led us to taking on Sebastian Vettel which certainly is extraordinary for a 19-year-old guy."

Next to Sebastian, BMW Sauber F1 Team test driver Timo Glock can also look back on a successful career in Formula BMW racing. In 2004, the 24-year-old was able to win the FOrmula BMW ADAC Championship title. At that time, he already aroused the attention of the BMW talent scouts, and at the beginning of the year he received a contract as the team's test driver. The previous successes of Sebastian and Timo confirm Theissen's strategy to discover talented young drivers. The BMW Motorsport director, nevertheless, emphasises: "I'm not generally proposing to take on younger and younger drivers into Formula One. You have to be careful to pick the right guys."