BMW has confirmed it will pull out of Formula One racing at the end of this season for “image reasons” to focus on sustainability and the environment.
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Chief executive Norbert Reithofer said: “We [think] the premium segment has to remain a positive role model within our society. We will remain loyal to motor sports, but we will do this in series that enable us to transfer technology more directly and to realise additional synergies.”
Research, development and motor sport head Klaus Draeger said the sole reason behind the decision was a realignment of strategy to reflect the automaker’s focus on reducing carbon emissions.
“The main reason for this decision was not our current performance or the general economic situation,” Draeger insisted.
“It has been clear for some time that motorsport cannot ignore the world economic crisis,” the International Automobile Federation (FIA) said in a statement.
“Car manufacturers cannot be expected to continue to pour large sums of money into Formula One when their survival depends on redundancies, plant closures and the support of the taxpayer,” it added.
The FIA also said BMW’s departure might have been avoided had some teams not put up resistance to regulations aimed at dramatic cost cuts.
BMW achieved eight F1 victories from 1982 to 1985 with the Brabham team winning the driver’s championship with Nelson Piquet in 1983. The last win with its legendary turbo engine followed with Benetton in 1986. Ten victories were scored during a partnership with Williams (2000-2005). BMW had a total of 19 grand prix wins and 33 pole positions before the BMW Sauber F1 team era.
In its debut season in 2006, the newly established Sauber team was fifth in the constructor’s championship. In 2007, the German-Swiss team came in second after McLaren-Mercedes’ exclusion from the points standings.
The 2008 season saw the team in the hunt for the world championship until the end of the season, ending up third. Polish-born Robert Kubica achieved the first and hitherto only GP victory in Canada on 8 June, 2008.
So far, the Sauber team has taken one pole position (Kubica in Bahrain in 2008) and 16 podium finishes.
The team is eighth in the manufacturer’s standings in the current season.
The cost of competing in F1 in the current economic downturn, against a background of production cuts and job losses, has seen automakers reconsidering their involvement. Honda pulled out of the series at the end of last season.
