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rage2
07-28-2009, 06:43 PM
Breaking news kids...

http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/77398

They just couldn't cut it. They pushed hard for KERS. Couldn't get it done. They put all their efforts on 2009. Couldn't get it done. BMW's supposed to be the pinnacle of motorsports, but they let Mercedes spank them year after year. I guess they're just posers like BMW owners. Pretty weak!


BMW's future in Formula 1 is in serious doubt amid mounting speculation that the German car manufacturer will announce its withdrawal from the sport at the end of this season, on Wednesday.

An emergency press conference has been called at BMW's headquarters in Munich, where it is suggested that the car company may reveal that it has decided to end its involvement in F1.

The invite to the press conference said it had been called because of 'current developments in motor sport.'

The press conference will be hosted by Dr. Norbert Reithofer, the chairman of the BMW board, Dr. Klaus Draeger, the director for development, and Mario Theissen, BMW motorsport director. The presence of such senior management figures suggests that the announcement will be very significant.

Officials at BMW refused to comment about what the press conference was about, but they did confirm that it was 'important' news.

BMW had hoped to fight for the world championship this year, but instead the F1.09 has fallen short of expectations. Its struggles, allied to the abandonment of its KERS, that BMW had pushed hard for in F1, are likely to have played a part in any decision about the future of the team.

Although BMW Sauber had a difficult start to the season, Theissen has made it clear on several occasions that the team's form had not changed the BMW Board's commitment to F1.

"We analysed and evaluated the situation and the F1 programme with the board prior to the start of the season in February," said Theissen in May. "It was overall a very positive evaluation and judgement, and that hasn't changed.

"Apparently everybody is disappointed about the sporting results, but other than that there is no news and we have not discussed it since."

However, sources suggest that a review meeting was planned for July to decide the future of the team - and this may be behind any announcement planned for the morning.

Should BMW confirm it is pulling out of the sport, it will be the second car manufacturer to do so in eight months - with Honda having announced last December that it was to leave the sport.

The announcement will be more of a surprise, however, because BMW Sauber was on the verge of signing a Concorde Agreement that would have committed the team to F1 until the end of 2012.

buh_buh
07-28-2009, 07:13 PM
I wonder if this is directly correlated to their performance, much like Honda.

rage2
07-28-2009, 07:14 PM
Obviously, but they'll just blame the economy, and/or Max/FIA.

So... Kubica to Ferrari, Heidfeld to McLaren?

Chandler_Racing
07-28-2009, 07:21 PM
I think this is the only sentence I read: "Officials at BMW refused to comment about what the press conference was about, but they did confirm that it was 'important' news."

Rumors and hearsay piss me off. It very well could be true, but I will pass judgement when the press release comes. Either way, I wonder if Brawn would express an interest in Kubica and whether it would be reciprocal :burnout:

Mibz
07-28-2009, 07:35 PM
Fuck you. I purposely held off posting this because it wasn't confirmed. Now that you've posted it, it'll be true. FML.

rage2
07-28-2009, 07:39 PM
Autosport wouldn't be posting the article unless it was at least 99% true. Same thing happened with the Honda announcement, it was leaked the night before, and all hell broke loose.

buh_buh
07-28-2009, 08:04 PM
if you posted it Mibz, BMW wouldn't pull out.

DJ Lazy
07-28-2009, 08:33 PM
Funny part is, if BMW would have committed to developing last years car when they were in the challenge (and even the lead) for the constructors championship, they could have very likely won it IMO... :nut:

Talk about 2 extremes...

rage2
07-29-2009, 02:05 AM
Stayed up for the confirmation, it is confirmed.


NobleF1
BMW has confirmed it is quitting F1 at the end of 2009
3 minutes ago from web
Jon Noble (Autosport's) Twitter.

And on BMW's site.

http://www.bmw-sauber-f1.com/en/index.html

Team_Mclaren
07-29-2009, 02:36 AM
Their cars were painful to watch this year, sooo slow. They were also one of the first to develop the 2009 car, but unlike Honda, they failed so very hard.

What does that mean for MB? Toyota? and the rest of the manufacturers... If Toyota can get a win this year, i think its likely that they'll stay, but they have missed their chance in Bahrain...

And does this mean another new team will enter next year? Prodrive? What about the drivers? Kubica to Ferrari with Alonso? Heidfeld will likely drive with one of the new teams, giving that Rosberg does go to Mclaren... :nut:

Another off-track "drama"... :(

Chris Elyea
07-29-2009, 07:32 AM
Originally posted by buh_buh
I wonder if this is directly correlated to their performance, much like Honda.

There's gotta be a strong correlation. If you look at the list of defunct constructors, you'll see very few championships.

This is exactly what makes Piquet's remarks so ridiculous. Of course Flav only cares about money, and also getting some top finishes, which Piquet conveniently failed to mention. Would you put all that money into advertising and not get any? The only time BMW gets shown on camera is when someone is talking about how slow they are - not a great marketing angle.

Renault was very competitive until the '84 and '85 seasons. I remember them well: always trailing smoke from yet another blown turbo. The company had financial difficulties and they pulled out of F1. The lack of results on track has to be a factor.

This is one reason I admire Force India. They seem to get mostly positive press, despite being slow. Expectations are low, so when Sutil makes it into the top 10, everybody is impressed.

Getting concerned about Brawn. Looks like the other teams have caught up to them in performance and they still don't have a sponsor. How long can they last?

yellowGTS
07-29-2009, 08:20 AM
Sorry to see another major manufacturer leave. Their performance for 2009 has been horrible, but you do have to give the original Sauber team some credit for developing a relationship with BMW to get their first win in 2008.

Economic, politics or being embarassed, it really doesn't matter why a team leaves, they just do what they want. Not many companies can afford to spend hundreds of millions of dollars on a sport and reap the rewards from advertising of that sport. It was a business decision....period

sputnik
07-29-2009, 08:28 AM
Originally posted by Chris Elyea
Getting concerned about Brawn. Looks like the other teams have caught up to them in performance and they still don't have a sponsor. How long can they last?

For as long as Richard keeps throwing money at the team.

Mibz
07-29-2009, 09:05 AM
Check out the FIA's response, basically blaming FOTA for BMW leaving. All class.

The FIA regrets the announcement of BMW’s intended withdrawal from Formula One but is not surprised by it.

It has been clear for some time that motor sport cannot ignore the world economic crisis. 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.

This is why the FIA prepared regulations to reduce costs drastically. These measures were needed to alleviate the pressure on manufacturers following Honda's withdrawal but also to make it possible for new teams to enter.

Had these regulations not been so strongly opposed by a number of team principals, the withdrawal of BMW and further such announcements in the future might have been avoided.

Nevertheless, as a result of a sustained cost-cutting campaign by the FIA, new measures are in the process of being agreed which should make it easier for new teams to enter and enable existing ones to participate on much reduced budgets.

It is no secret that these measures do not go as far as the FIA would have liked but a compromise was needed in the interests of harmony in the sport. Hopefully it will be enough to prevent further withdrawals and provide a solid foundation for Formula One.

As the guardian of the sport, the FIA is committed to ensuring that Formula One remains financially sustainable for all competing teams and it will always act to ensure that this remains the case.

scat19
07-29-2009, 09:42 AM
Originally posted by rage2
I guess they're just posers like BMW owners. Pretty weak!



What I drive: HPF Stg2 M3

DJ Lazy
07-29-2009, 02:56 PM
Originally posted by scat19


What I drive: HPF Stg2 M3

You obviously didn't see what he did there.... :rolleyes:

Inzane
07-29-2009, 11:35 PM
Originally posted by rage2
I guess they're just posers like BMW owners. Pretty weak!


Yep. Especially those guys who can no longer shift for themselves. :poosie:

I'm about to become one myself (owner), but only RWD & 6MT for me. :D