Autoblog

McLaren, Sauber move to sever ties with Mercedes, BMW

Noah Joseph — Fri, 19 Mar 2010 08:01:00 EST

Filed under: Motorsports, BMW, Mercedes-Benz

For the past several years - even more in the case of McLaren - Germany's automakers have been known around the Formula One paddock by their association with two of the sport's most established racing teams. But for the 2010 season, both Mercedes-Benz and BMW have dissolved their partnerships with McLaren and Sauber, respectively. And yet, if you look down this year's roster, you'd swear the associations still stand.

In the case of McLaren, the partnership with Mercedes has now devolved into a strict engine-supply arrangement, just the same as exists between Red Bull and Renault or Force India and Ferrari, to mention just two examples. This following Mercedes' acquisition of the Brawn GP team. McLaren, however, is now completing the re-acquisition of the 40% stake which Mercedes parent-company Daimler held in the racing outfit, thus culminating a 15-year partnership between the two companies.

Sauber's arrangement is a bit more complicated, however. The Swiss team, which was founded as an independent, was bought outright by BMW after its lackluster arrangement with the Williams team failed to amount to much. The Bavarian automaker withdrew its support at the end of last season, however, leaving Sauber twisting in the wind. The team's namesake founder has since bought the team back from BMW, and is running under Ferrari power like it once did.

The most bizarre arrangement, however, left the team's official entry labeled as BMW Sauber Ferrari, since the team was hesitant to remove BMW's name from its letterhead and risk missing out on the revenue stream to which the team is entitled from Formula One Management's commercial holdings. Sauber, however, says that the situation will change some time this season when they officially and formally drop the BMW name from its entry and off the nose of the car on which it still sits.

[Sources: ESPN and F1Technical | Image: Guillaume Baptiste/AFP/Getty]

McLaren, Sauber move to sever ties with Mercedes, BMW originally appeared on Autoblog on Fri, 19 Mar 2010 08:01:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Sauber launches a sober C29 for the 2010 F1 season

Noah Joseph — Tue, 02 Feb 2010 09:27:00 EST

Filed under: Motorsports, BMW, Ferrari, Racing

2010 BMW Sauber C29 - Click above for high-res image gallery

There's no easy way to design and build a new F1 car, but the road to Valencia has been longer for the Sauber team than its competition. The team quite nearly missed the chance to race this year after BMW withdrew its support and a subsequent deal to sell the team fell through. But team founder and namesake Peter Sauber managed to get the funds together to buy his team back, and after narrowly acquiring a spot on the 2010 grid, this is the first fruit: the Sauber C29.

Technically, the team still bears the BMW Sauber moniker, but it's not the Bavarian automaker's engine under the cowling: it's Ferrari's. The name game is simply a formality. Having run Maranello's engines for years in the pre-BMW era under the Petronas brand, both Ferrari and Sauber are used to the arrangement.

Petronas is also gone, migrating to the rival Mercedes GP team (and not, as might have been assumed, to the Malaysian-backed Lotus team). As you can see, the C29 - the third car to make its debut during the Valencia test session - was unveiled with no sponsor branding whatsoever. Rumor has it that both drivers - 38-year-old veteran McLaren test driver Pedro de la Rosa and 23-year-old rookie Kamui Kobayashi (who impressed in his debut for Toyota last season) - have brought sponsorship along with them, Kobayashi in particular linked to Panasonic, which sponsored Toyota's cars until the Japanese automaker's withdrawal last season.

With BMW or without, Sauber's made the grid, but the team still has a long way to go. Have a look at the high-resolution images in the gallery below and the press release after the jump.

Gallery: 2010 BMW Sauber C29

[Source: BMW Sauber]

Continue reading Sauber launches a sober C29 for the 2010 F1 season

Sauber launches a sober C29 for the 2010 F1 season originally appeared on Autoblog on Tue, 02 Feb 2010 09:27:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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2010 F1 grid nears the finish line as Sauber signs McLaren veteran Pedro de la Rosa

Noah Joseph — Thu, 21 Jan 2010 09:59:00 EST

Filed under: Motorsports, Hirings/Firings/Layoffs, BMW

Pedro de la Rosa (right) signs with Peter Sauber (left) - Click above for high-res image gallery

With the countdown winding down until the 2010 Formula One season's opening round in Bahrain, the roster of drivers competing for top honors is drawing near completion with the announcement that the Sauber team has signed Pedro de la Rosa as its second race driver.

The Spanish driver started in F1 as a test driver for Jordan in 1998, driving for Arrows and Jaguar before going to McLaren, with whom he stayed as a test driver from 2003 through 2009, filling in for Juan Pablo Montoya in 2005 and 2006. With McLaren now divorced from Mercedes and Sauber from arch-rival BMW, de la Rosa will return to the grid alongside Japanese hot shoe Kamui Kobayashi for the upcoming season.

Following the Sauber announcement, only four seats remain unconfirmed: two at USF1, one at Campos (alongside Bruno Senna) and one at Renault (alongside Robert Kubica). Follow the jump for the press release from Sauber and a standing roster of who'll be driving for which teams this season.

Gallery: Sauber signs Pedro de la Rosa

[Source: Sauber]

Continue reading 2010 F1 grid nears the finish line as Sauber signs McLaren veteran Pedro de la Rosa

2010 F1 grid nears the finish line as Sauber signs McLaren veteran Pedro de la Rosa originally appeared on Autoblog on Thu, 21 Jan 2010 09:59:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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FIA gives Sauber the green light to fill Toyota's slot

Noah Joseph — Tue, 08 Dec 2009 08:00:00 EST

Filed under: Motorsports, BMW, Toyota

After months in limbo, the FIA has released a short statement to announce that it has approved the Sauber F1 team - formerly owned by BMW - to fill Toyota's vacant spot on the grid for next year's F1 championship.

The announcement puts an end to a long period of uncertainty for the Swiss team that started when BMW announced it would withdraw its support. A deal was then penned with a shady investment firm known as Qadbak. But after Qadbak emerged as little more than a shell company for a convicted fraudster, the team's founder and namesake Peter Sauber negotiated a deal to buy the team back from the departing Bavarian automaker.

BMW motorsport chief Mario Thiessen - who supervised the company's F1 participation from providing engines to Williams through its purchase of Sauber - has announced that he'll remain with BMW and not leave with Sauber, leaving old Peter in charge.

The newly independent team has reportedly negotiated a deal to run Ferrari engines next season, an arrangement that powered Sauber F1 cars for eight years, rebadged as Petronas under the sponsor's name. Reports also suggest that Giancarlo Fisichella - who raced for Sauber in 2004 alongside Felipe Massa - could drive for the team once again in parallel to his Ferrari test duties.

A revised entry list is expected within the next few days. Follow the jump for the FIA's official announcement.

[Source: FIA | Image: Andrew Yates/AFP/Getty Images]

Continue reading FIA gives Sauber the green light to fill Toyota's slot

FIA gives Sauber the green light to fill Toyota's slot originally appeared on Autoblog on Tue, 08 Dec 2009 08:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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BMW reaches agreement to sell F1 team back to founder Peter Sauber

Sam Abuelsamid — Fri, 27 Nov 2009 18:02:00 EST

Filed under: Motorsports, BMW

The future of Sauber F1 looks a little more secure. After BMW's announcement earlier this year that it would withdraw from its involvement in Formula one at the end of the 2009, the automaker has reached a deal to sell the team back to eponymous founder Peter Sauber.

The new deal comes just days after it became clear that the previously unknown Qadbak investment company that had a deal to buy the team may have in fact been nothing more than a scam. According to previous reports, Qadbak apparently just wanted to collect Sauber's share of the F1 commercial money.

Peter Sauber has apparently raised the financing to buy back the team he sold to BMW in 2005 although the announcement does not disclose the purchase price. The team is being restructured in accordance with new F1 rules designed to bring down costs, and the staff at team headquarters will be cut from the current 388 to 250, with the first batch of layoff notices landing in inboxes today.

[Source: BMW]

Continue reading BMW reaches agreement to sell F1 team back to founder Peter Sauber

BMW reaches agreement to sell F1 team back to founder Peter Sauber originally appeared on Autoblog on Fri, 27 Nov 2009 18:02:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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REPORT: Proton could take the reins from BMW Sauber, return Lotus to F1

Sam Abuelsamid — Mon, 07 Sep 2009 08:00:00 EST

Filed under: Motorsports, BMW, Lotus, Rumormill

Lotus Type 72 - Click above for high-res image gallery

When BMW announced several weeks ago that it would be withdrawing from Formula One at the end of the 2009 season, the automaker left open the fate of the operations it bought from Peter Sauber. Since then, reports have indicated that the automaker has been evaluating possible buyers for the team.

According to Autocar, one of the possible suitors is Malaysian automaker Proton and the British sportscar maker it owns, Lotus. Team Lotus was a staple of F1 from 1958 until 1994 - winning seven Constructors Championships in that span. During its heyday in the Sixties, Seventies and early Eighties, Team Lotus was one of the greatest innovators in the sport. Unfortunately, after founder Colin Chapman's death, the team eventually withered.

The new Lotus effort would likely be sponsored by long-time Sauber backer Petronas and the team could be led by former Renault and Toyota technical director Mike Gascoyne. So far, there has been no official comment from anyone reported to be involved.

Gallery: Lotus F1 cars

[Source: Autocar]

REPORT: Proton could take the reins from BMW Sauber, return Lotus to F1 originally appeared on Autoblog on Mon, 07 Sep 2009 08:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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F1 Updates: BMW seeks new buyer, FIA re-opens selection process, Renault granted appeal, etc.

Noah Joseph — Wed, 19 Aug 2009 18:00:00 EST

Filed under: Motorsports, BMW, Ferrari, Renault

It's anything but business as usual this year in Formula One, and this past week has been no exception, with one team scrambling to secure its future, another receiving the go-ahead to continue racing, and others re-submitting applications in the hope of joining the grid for next year.

First up is BMW, which announced it would be withdrawing its support from the Sauber team at the end of this year. After the team's eponymous founder failed to put the cash together to buy his team back from the Bavarians, the outfit is going ahead with its program to launch successive updates to its current car for Valencia this coming weekend and Singapore later this season in to demonstrate its capabilities in the hope of finding a new buyer before the season's out.

The FIA isn't holding its breath, however, and has informed seven outfits that submitted so-far unsuccessful bids to participate in F1 next season that there'll be another spot opening up on the grid for next year. In addition to BMW Sauber, reports suggest that Epsilon Euskadi and Prodrive are vying for the spot.

Meanwhile the Renault team has been given the green light to race at Valencia after successfully appealing the ban imposed on the team at the last grand prix for a loose wheel nut. The team will have to pay a $50,000 fine, whiole newcomer Romain Grosjean is confirmed to replace Nelsinho Piquet and partner Fernando Alonso.

As for Felipe Massa, the injured Ferrari driver currently recovering, the latest reports indicate that while he could be ready as soon as the Italian Grand Prix - the home race for his team - he'll more likely wait until the later race in his home country of Brazil to make his comeback.

[Source: Autosport | Image: Bertrand Guay/AFP/Getty]

F1 Updates: BMW seeks new buyer, FIA re-opens selection process, Renault granted appeal, etc. originally appeared on Autoblog on Wed, 19 Aug 2009 18:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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BREAKING: BMW announces withdrawal from Formula One at end of 2009

Sam Abuelsamid — Wed, 29 Jul 2009 08:28:00 EST

Filed under: Motorsports, BMW, Earnings/Financials

BMW's Board of Management met this week and voted to to wind down its Formula One team at the end the of the 2009 series after just four seasons. According to a statement from BMW, the resources that had been expended on the company's F1 program will instead be re-directed to the "development of new drive technologies and projects in the field of sustainability." That means we will likely be seeing a significant ramp-up of work on electrification and efforts like Project I which first spawned the Mini E.

After returning to F1 as an engine supplier first to BMW in 2000 and later to Sauber, BMW took over the Sauber team prior to the 2006 season. Since then, BMW Sauber has only managed a single win and has struggled in 2009 under the series' revamped technical rules. BMW has not yet given any indication that it is open to selling the team and its assets the way Honda did last year to Ross Brawn.

The automaker's other motorsports programs will continue in 2010 and beyond with efforts in touring cars, the American Le Mans Series and Formula BMW. A press release and statement from CEO Dr. Norbert Reithofer are after the jump.

[Source: BMW | Image: Mark Thompson/Getty]

Continue reading BREAKING: BMW announces withdrawal from Formula One at end of 2009

BREAKING: BMW announces withdrawal from Formula One at end of 2009 originally appeared on Autoblog on Wed, 29 Jul 2009 08:28:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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BMW gives up on KERS for the remainder of the 2009 F1 season

Sam Abuelsamid — Mon, 22 Jun 2009 18:00:00 EST

Filed under: Motorsports, Green, BMW

After using its KERS hybrid system on and off through the first half of the 2009 Formula One season, the BMW-Sauber team has decided enough is enough. The team will shelve the system through the remainder of the year while it focuses on aerodynamic development. In spite of the utter lack of success using the kinetic energy recovery systems this year, team boss Mario Theissen said the development process has been useful for the company's production hybrids. Lessons learned in developing the electric hybrid system on the race cars has been transferred to engineers working on the upcoming 750h mild hybrid and X6 two-mode hybrid.

BMW isn't totally giving up on the system though, having voted to retain KERS for future seasons. Under the current rules, there are not enough performance benefits from KERS and Thiessen says that unless KERS is mandatory for all cars, it will likely be dropped by all teams.

[Source: F1-Live]

BMW gives up on KERS for the remainder of the 2009 F1 season originally appeared on Autoblog on Mon, 22 Jun 2009 18:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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BMW Sauber's Nick Heidfeld takes completed-races record from Schumacher

Noah Joseph — Mon, 18 May 2009 08:01:00 EST

Filed under: Motorsports, BMW

Nick Heidfeld at the launch of the BMW Sauber F1.09 - Click above for a high-res image gallery

Nick Heidfeld and the BMW Sauber F1 team he drives for may not be having the best season thus far, but one thing you can give them credit for is consistency. And as anyone who knows racing can tell you, finishing the race is the most fundamental element of success. So it shouldn't fall on deaf ears that Heidfeld set a not insignificant record last weekend at the Spanish Grand Prix, where - after 25 successive grands prix - the German driver took the record for the most races completely consecutively.

The record was previously held by fellow countryman Michael Schumacher, and came on Heidfeld's 32nd birthday. The last time Nick didn't finish a race was way back at the 2007 Japanese Grand Prix at the Fuji Speedway, where technical difficulties sidelined him two laps before the finish line. Since then Heidfeld has started and finished every grand prix, through the remainder of 2007, all of 2008 and every race this year so far.

Gallery: BMW Sauber F1.09

[Source: F1-Live]

BMW Sauber's Nick Heidfeld takes completed-races record from Schumacher originally appeared on Autoblog on Mon, 18 May 2009 08:01:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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BMW Sauber launches F1.09 at Valencia

Noah Joseph — Tue, 20 Jan 2009 13:59:00 EST

Filed under: Motorsports, BMW

Click above for high-res image gallery of the BMW Sauber F1.09

When it rains, it pours. Formula One racing fans spend most of the year watching the same crop of cars running around in circles, until the off season when all the teams unveil their new cars in the same two-week window of time. So after Ferrari, Toyota, McLaren, Williams and Renault have uncovered their 2009 challengers, with Red Bull, Toro Rosso and Force India not expected to unveil their new cars until next month, and with Honda's F1 future still in limbo, the BMW Sauber team have become the latest to join the party.

Called, simply enough, the F1.09, this will be the car in which Robert Kubica and Nick Heidfeld, with the support of perennial test driver Christian Klein, will take on the rest of the field in the coming season. Its form is dictated by the same new aero regulations as its competitors, with BMW's own battery-based Kinetic Energy Recovery System installed underneath. Several teams have stated that, given the short timeframe they had to develop the hybrid system, they may delay its implementation, and Sauber's troubled gestation process was well publicized. Notably absent, meanwhile, from the car's livery this year is longtime sponsor Credit Suisse, the banking giant that cited a change in marketing strategies as its reason for not renewing its sponsorship. BMW Sauber unveiled the F1.09 on Tuesday morning at the test track in Valencia, Spain, which you can see in the high-resolution image gallery below.

Gallery: BMW Sauber F1.09

[Source: BMW Motorsport]

BMW Sauber launches F1.09 at Valencia originally appeared on Autoblog on Tue, 20 Jan 2009 13:59:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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KubiKart: F1 driver teams up with Birel for custom line of karts

Noah Joseph — Mon, 05 Jan 2009 08:28:00 EST

Filed under: Motorsports, Celebrities

Click above for a gallery of Kubica's karts

If you want to be world champion, especially a multiple world champion, you're going to need your own line of karts. Schumacher has one. So does Alonso. They've both won the F1 title multiple times, and Robert Kubica would undoubtedly like to join their ranks, so he's teamed up with Italian kart-makers Birel to offer his own special line of equipment.

Early in his career, the Polish driver was the official pilot for the Birel factory team, which gave him his leg up into the world of motor racing. He's come a long way since, climbing all the way up to Formula One with a shot at winning the title one day, but fast as he is, he's not so quick to abandon his roots. To that end, he's both launching his own RK karting line with Birel, and managing a team of aspiring drivers in the top level of world karting competition. We're sure to see some serious up-and-coming talent rising out of the initiative, but by then Kubica hopes to have made his mark in Formula One. Follow the jump for the full press release, and check out the images in the gallery below.

Gallery: Birel RK karts by Robert Kubica

[Source: Birel]

Continue reading KubiKart: F1 driver teams up with Birel for custom line of karts

KubiKart: F1 driver teams up with Birel for custom line of karts originally appeared on Autoblog on Mon, 05 Jan 2009 08:28:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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BMW Sauber discovers cause of KERS shock

Jeremy Korzeniewski — Fri, 22 Aug 2008 11:29:00 EST

Filed under: Motorsports, Green, Safety, BMW

According to Team BMW Sauber, it has "concluded their investigations into the KERS incident at Jerez." Incident? You mean that time when one of your mechanics was literally thrown to the ground after doing nothing more than touching your car? Right, that one. If you are truly interested in reading all of the techno-babble regarding why the experimental KERS hybrid system reached out and touched someone, click past the break for the details. Here are the highlights: It was an accident. The KERS control unit malfunctioned. Nobody was seriously hurt and nobody was ever in any real danger (Dr Evil: Riiight...). Christian Klein, the driver, was insulated from any shocks due to his race suit and gloves.

BMW Sauber has apparently fixed the problem and feels confident that it will be ready to continue testing in the Autumn. Recently, the BMW team voted in favor of running the KERS hybrid system for next year's race season, so it'll have to be ready to go sooner rather than later.

[Source: BMW]

Continue reading BMW Sauber discovers cause of KERS shock

BMW Sauber discovers cause of KERS shock originally appeared on Autoblog on Fri, 22 Aug 2008 11:29:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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KERS gets Formula 1 green light for 2009

Jeremy Korzeniewski — Wed, 06 Aug 2008 09:33:00 EST

Filed under: Motorsports, Green, BMW, Honda, Renault

Despite some serious reservations regarding the safety and high cost of the Kinetic Energy Recovery System
(KERS), the hybrid system has received the green light for introduction into the 2009 Formula 1 season. After BMW and Renault had some, uh, issues with KERS, Renault called a meeting to discuss whether the new flywheel-based system should be postponed until 2010. BMW Sauber, Honda Racing and Williams are apparently feeling confident enough in their own systems to resist the delay. Because F1 rules dictate that a consensus must be reached to change the previous ruling, F1 cars in 2009 will run with the new drivetrain. The only thing which could still hold back the new technology would be if the teams were unable to guarantee the safety of their systems, and this seems unlikely given that Honda has already completed a successful track test last week.

[Source: autosport.com]

KERS gets Formula 1 green light for 2009 originally appeared on Autoblog on Wed, 06 Aug 2008 09:33:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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VIDEO: Nick Heidfeld breaks BMW Sauber F1 car while showing off

Dan Roth — Tue, 06 May 2008 17:14:00 EST

Filed under: Motorsports, Etc., Videos, BMW

Not that BMW's Sauber F1 car has anything more than three letters in common with cars that bear the propeller logo on public streets, but who's going to argue with the opportunity to lay down the tools early? Hotshoe Nick Heidfeld recently treated a crowd of laborer's at BMW's Munich factory to the spectacle of a big-dollar race car being treated like a hand-me-down Reliant, complete with a body-damaging finale. The shriek of a high-strung F1 racer while it slides around doing lurid donuts is a thing to behold, but the smile quickly fades when the front splitter gets tangled up in the curbing and ripped off the nose. Whoops. Video after the jump - Thanks for the tip, Ovidiu!

[Source: YouTube via Zercustoms]

Continue reading VIDEO: Nick Heidfeld breaks BMW Sauber F1 car while showing off

VIDEO: Nick Heidfeld breaks BMW Sauber F1 car while showing off originally appeared on Autoblog on Tue, 06 May 2008 17:14:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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