BMW SAUBER

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BMW-Sauber

Monday 20th February 2006

BMW

The history of the BMW F1 team starts with a man called Peter Sauber, who entered Formula One back in 1993 with a privateer team and long resisted the lure of teaming up with a big manufacturer.

But all that changed in 2005 when the stoggy-smoking Swiss went one better and instead of partnering sold to BMW.

With the benefit of hindsight, the demise of one of the sport's most renowned privateer teams competing in F1 was inevitable.

Forever fighting an uphill battle with meagre resources, the team consistently punched above their weight. But, as with any boxer on the ropes, there was a limit to how much 'punishment' they could take.

The 2005 season, the team's final one as a private outfit, was a disappointing affair, which summed up the need for greater financial muscle.

With former World Champion Jacques Villeneuve and Ferrari-bound Felipe Massa in the driving seats for 2005, Sauber had hoped for a repeat of their 2004 improvement. It didn't happen.

To start with, Villeneuve's arrival at the team caused a few headaches because even before his first race the media questioned the wisdom in signing the French/Canadian, who'd only contested (and not very well at that) three GPs the previous year.

However, his fourth place at the San Marino GP went some way towards silencing his critics and the press left the Swiss team alone to get on with what was a mediocre campaign.

So mediocre even their tradition of having an encouraging start to the season, a gradual dip and then finally a disappointing decline was abandoned - there was never any high to come down from.

And when Sauber's final grand prix as a F1 team boss ended with the last lap of the Chinese GP, his squad was down in eighth place on the Constructors' log, having been overhauled by both Toyota and Red Bull.

The main event of 2005, though, was the sale of Sauber to BMW, who officially took over the reigns on January 1, 2006.

BMW were quick to sign Nick Heidfeld, who they'd worked with at Williams, as one of their 2006 drivers, although they were somewhat reluctant to honour Villeneuve's two-year Sauber deal. In the end they did.

In its two new German additions Sauber, now rebranded as BMW-Sauber, had the perfect recipe for success.

While Heidfeld brought speed, talent and relative youth to the mix BMW had the financial backing and motor racing knowhow the team needed to move up the grid.

And move up they did - at least after a rocky start to the year.

BMW-Sauber failed to shine in the opening race of the season with Villeneuve suffering an engine failure, and Heidfeld finishing a disappointing 12th. However, they fought back in the following race, which although neither driver qualified well for, JV at least managed to finish in 7th place, earning BMW's first two points as a fully-fledged F1 team. Heidfeld, though, suffered the team's second engine failure of the season.

The German, though, came back strongly in race three of the season, the Australian GP, finishing fourth while JV claimed sixth place. Eight points went to the BMW-Sauber team.

But as the season progressed, BMW's rivals upped the ante, leaving the team faltering. Over the next nine races, Heidfeld and JV managed to score only ten points.

Germany saw the situation reach its lowest point for BMW, with their two drivers crashing on the opening lap. A few laps later Villeneuve suffered a heavy crash and although he walked away unhurt, he was dropped from the team in favour of test driver Robert Kubica.

The arrival of the Pole sparked an upsurge in BMW's performance with Heidfeld claiming the team's maiden podium finish at the Hungarian Grand Prix. Kubica finished eighth, however, he was disqualified for his car being underweight.

Istanbul saw BMW fail to score a point as the team struggled with a bad choice of Michelin tyres, while the next race, Italy, resulted in their second podium finish. This time going to Kubica in only his third F1 grand prix,

And although Kubica didn't score again, Heidfeld claimed two additional points finishes to see BMW finish fifth in their debut season in Formula One.

In 2007 with Heidfeld and Kubica once again behind the wheel of BMW's F1 car, the team achieved second place in the Constructors' Championship, thanks largely to McLaren's exclusion for spying.

The team showed impressive form in the pre-season testing, which translated into results and points throughout the season as BMW's F1.07 proved to have both the pace and the reliability needed to succeed. The team suffered only six retirements during the season, of which five were due to either engine or mechanical failures. It was impressive reliability record for the still growing team.

Two podium finishes from Heidfeld, which included a second placed finish at the Canadian GP, were more indications that BMW have become a force in Formula One.

After an excellent finish to 2007, BMW decided to retain Kubica and Heidfeld for the 2008 campaign and the duo didn't let them down as the team went from strength to strength.

Heidfeld started the season with a bang, finishing second in the season opener in Australia. Kubica, though, wasn't about to be outdone by his team-mate and picked up a second-place finishes in Malaysia. Kubica then made history at the Bahrain Grand Prix when he became BMW-Sauber's first pole-sitter. Unfortunately he had to settle for third place in the race.

The Pole, though, continued to pick up points in the next few races and he announced his and BMW's arrival as Championship contenders in the seventh race of the season in Canada when he won the team's first-ever GP, leading Heidfeld home to a 1-2. Heidfeld continued the excellent form with another second-place finish at Silverstone.

Things then went a bit quiet for the team as Heidfeld struggled to get things right in qualifying while Kubica, although still challenging for World Championship honours, just couldn't keep up with Lewis Hamilton and Felipe Massa. Kubica added three more podium finishes and Heidfeld one to their honours role for the season as they finished third in the Constructors' Championship with a record 135 points.

Despite speculation that Heidfeld could be replaced by Fernando Alonso, BMW decided to keep faith with the German and Pole for the 2009 campaign.

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