BMW quits F1

[feisaldzul]

Yikes

 

[izuaff]

Good for them, less money going to waste.It's not like BMW at the top of the ladder anyway. During the past few years watching F1, I've never seen them challenging for title except in 2006 if I'm not mistaken.

This BMW Motorsport Director Dr Mario Thiessen should''ve been replaced with someone more capable cos I think the team has been underperforming under his guidance. The only achievement for him maybe winning and defending the lowly-regarded FIA WTCC , where BMW race against the Seat and Alfa Romeo .

 

[Juan Powerblow]

Yikes

You sure or not? Where did you hear this?

 

[Juan Powerblow]

Report: BMW pulling out Formula One



FRANKFURT (AP): German media says car maker BMW plans to pull out of Formula One at the end of this season.
The newspaper Bild, and others, are reporting that the company will announce the decision at a news conference later Wednesday.
BMW will remain involved in motor sport but not in Formula One.
BMW was involved in F1 in the 1980s before pulling out, returning as an engine supplier to Williams in 2000. It took over the Sauber team in 2005. Its only Formula One win was in the 2008 Canadian Grand Prix and has had a disappointing 2009 season.
Japanese car maker Honda pulled out of F1 ahead of this season.

Source: The Star Online, 29 July 2009

 

[mizhan]

yes, touring car races (and rallies) make more sense for manufacturers to participate as they can showcase and market products more similar to what being offered at their sales outlets. better leave f1 to independent teams.. those people got the passion to push on come rain or shine.

 

[Traveler]

From BBC F1 news:

Page last updated at 08:13 GMT, Wednesday, 29 July 2009 09:13 UK

BMW to quit F1 at end of season

BMW would be a loss to F1 - Croft

BMW will withdraw from Formula 1 at the end of this season.

The German car manufacturer, who took over Sauber in 2005, have cited "current developments in motor sport" as the reason for their pull-out.

BMW are the second major manufacturer to leave the sport in eight months after Honda's withdrawal in December.

F1 supremo Bernie Ecclestone said BMW had given themselves three years to win the world championship, but they have only amassed eight points this season.

"It's not quite been like that so perhaps that's why they've [decided] to stop," he told BBC Radio 5 Live.

"When you consider how much money they've spent and the results they've got, it's probably not such a good investment.

"They were quite sure that they were going to win the championship within three years, and I was hoping they would."

BMW, who currently have Robert Kubica and Nick Heidfeld as their drivers, held a meeting on Tuesday where they made the decision to quit the sport.

They will instead devote resources to the 'development of new drive technologies and projects in the field of sustainability'.

"Of course, this was a difficult decision for us, but it's a resolute step in view of our company's strategic realignment," said Dr Norbert Reithofer, chairman of the Board of Management of BMW.

"Premium will be increasingly defined in terms of sustainability and environmental compatibility. This is an area in which we want to remain in the lead.

"We are continually reviewing all projects and initiatives to check them for future viability and sustainability.

"Our Formula One campaign is thus less a key promoter for us."

BMW's takeover of Sauber in 2005 saw them enter their own team in 2006 and in their debut season they were fifth in the constructors' championship before being promoted to second in 2007 after the exclusion of McLaren-Mercedes.

They put up a strong challenge in 2008 but ended up third behind Ferrari and McLaren-Mercedes.

Their only grand prix win as BMW Sauber came when Polish driver Kubica won in Canada in 2008, while he also achieved the team's only pole position with his qualifying effort in Bahrain in 2008.

BMW motorsport director Dr. Mario Theissen added: "Of course, we, the employees in Hinwil and Munich, would all have liked to continue this ambitious campaign and show that this season was just a hiccup following three successful years.

"But I can understand why this decision was made from a corporate perspective. We will now focus sharply on the remaining races and demonstrate our fighting spirit and put in a good result as we bid farewell to Formula One racing."

BMW first entered Formula 1 as an engine supplier to Brabham in 1982 and the first victory of the pairing came in 1983 when Nelson Piquet won in Brazil on the way to claiming the drivers' crown.

But BMW pulled out as an engine supplier in 1987 before returning in 2000 as engine partners to Williams.

The duo were together for six years and ended up as constructors' championship runners-up in 2002 and 2003, while winning 10 grands prix and taking 17 pole positions.

 

[Traveler]

From BBC F1 news:

BMW: no firm decisions on team breakup

Following the news that they are to pull out of Formula One racing at the end of the season, BMW have revealed they are yet to decide on the future of the team’s facilities and employees.

Since taking over the Sauber team in 2006, the team’s operations have been split between a factory in Switzerland at Hinwil and the car company's headquarters in the German city of Munich. At the start of 2009, over 400 staff were employed in the Swiss facility and 250 were working for the Formula One team in Germany.

“Since we only made this decision yesterday, we cannot provide any more precise information,” said Dr Klaus Draeger, the member of the BMW’s board of management responsible for development. “We will develop and assess various scenarios and do our best to find a solution for the employees in Hinwil and the staff members involved in the Formula One project in Munich."

Although he made it clear it was too early to quantify the number of redundancies, Draeger was quick to reassure staff that they would make further announcements in the near future. “We are aware of the responsibility we shoulder and will inform the staff as soon as we can make a clear statement," he concluded.

So who will inherit the team? I wonder who Petronas will be sponsoring next year...

 

[puss]

From BBC F1 news:



So who will inherit the team? I wonder who Petronas will be sponsoring next year...

GFC la....

 

[puss]

oops, long time neber post, don't know how oledi......soli ar, aunty here lau liao....

 

[XXX]

shit ....no more parties...knn

 

[suhaimi850]

Duit Petronas (Duit rakyat),selepas ini Petronas boleh memberi byk faedah kepada rakyat Malaysia,anjurkan permotoran nasional lebih byk sikit.Sekarang ni global ekonomi crisis.Lebih baik beri lebih subsidi pd rakyat Malaysia.Berjimatlah................

 

[astroboy]

Those sponsorship of F1 by Petronas are for marketing reasons because Petronas is trying to sell higher value better margin oil products to the European which I think they managed to make some break through in their deals after years of involvement in F1. Many Europeans are now using Petronas products be it direct or indirect.

So for those who think Petronas is wasting Rakyat's money in sponsoring F1 is not being fair to Petronas. Those who purchased BMW in Bolehland is even more unfair to Proton..

 

[suhaimi850]

Petronas byk telah keluar wang dlm pembangunan Putrajaya.Projek di Putrajaya byk masih lagi tersangkut-sangkut.Lebih baik wang dari menaja F1 itu di berikan kepada pembinaan Putrajaya serta beri subsidi kepada rakyat Malaysia.

 

[astroboy]

Our company also spends million in advertisement every year, I think they should stop advertising and pay us more bonus end of the year since we work from 8am till 8pm every weekday. After all our increment can't catchup with the inflation rate.

My boss should log in here and learn a thing or 2 from our member..

 

[suhaimi850]

may be one day,u getting bonus from your company,or u cabut cari kerja lain.hahahaha...very sad hearing this case.

 

[megatniza]

It's a sad day . Which team should I support now ???? My other car is a Toyota & they
are not doing well too.......:listen:

Anyway , some excerpts from F1 ITV .....

BMW has announced that it will withdraw from Formula 1 at the end of this season.
The German car manufacturer dropped the bombshell at a hastily convened press conference in Munich this morning (Wednesday), saying the move was part of a “strategic realignment” in which it would increasingly focus on environmental sustainability and that F1 did not fit that agenda.
Senior executives made it clear that the team’s poor results in 2009 were also a key factor in the decision, which was taken by BMW’s board of management at a meeting yesterday.
“Of course, this was a difficult decision for us,” said board chairman Dr Norbert Reithofer.
“But it’s a resolute step in view of our company’s strategic realignment.
“Premium will increasingly be defined in terms of sustainability and environmental compatibility. This is an area in which we want to remain in the lead.
MpuADCall('SPORT.FORMULA1.NEWS');on error resume next if (plugin

 

[megatniza]

yes, touring car races (and rallies) make more sense for manufacturers to participate as they can showcase and market products more similar to what being offered at their sales outlets. better leave f1 to independent teams.. those people got the passion to push on come rain or shine.

yeah ..that's what Renault & Citroen did ...they went into WRC ..

but we are talking about BMW which had always been associated with motorsports , speed , performance , etc , etc ...
it's like McDonald saying that they are not going to sell big mac anymore ..:stupid:

 

[suhaimi850]

Petronas also boleh support rakyat Malaysia jd world champion dlm WRC,kita ada Karamjit Singh.Petronas dah lama sponsor dlm F1.Petronas sepatutnya menjadi sponsor kepada rakyat kita dlm motorsport.Sy kagum dgn Karamjit Singh,walaupun kurang sponsor tp semangatnya sgt mendalam dlm arena motorsport.Petronas perlu sponsor kepada anak Malaysia.Tak perlu dianaktirikan rakyat Malaysia.Petronas hak rakyat malaysia,jenama keluaran ternama negara.Lahirkan juara anak Malaysia.Utamakan rakyat Malaysia.Just my opinion.

 

[meanguy]

shit ....no more parties...knn

Bro, I share the same thots!

I guess the saddest guy in the club will be CPPeng!

 

[king eric]

Sooooo sad