Rumours had been growing since Tuesday night that the German car manufacturer, who took over Sauber in 2005, was considering its investment in the sport and its departure was confirmed at a press conference in Munich on Wednesday morning.
BMW’s withdrawal comes just eight months after Honda’s dramatic exit last December and throws the signing of the new legally-binding Concorde Agreement into serious doubt.
It had been anticipated that the document, which would bind 13 teams to the sport until 2012, would be signed at the end of this week, but that must now be in doubt with Toyota and Renault also rumoured to be considering their futures.
A massive downturn in road car sales is understood to be the key factor in BMW’s decision although poor on-track performance was also clearly a contributing factor.
The fate of the BMW Sauber staff at Hinwil in Switzerland has not yet been decided and no decision has yet been made about whether the outfit will be shut down completely, or sold on to another company. Telegraph.co.uk
“Of course, this was a difficult decision for us. But it’s a resolute step in view of our company’s strategic realignment,” said BMW Chief Executive Norbert Reithofer in a statement.
BMW’s executive board member Klaus Draeger added that the team had been “unable to meet expectations in the current season.” The BMW team currently ranks eighth among the 10 Formula 1 teams with only eight championship points from 10 races.
Mr. Draeger said the number of job cuts resulting from the decision can’t be specified yet. “Since we only made this decision yesterday, we cannot provide any more precise information,” he said.
BMW, the world’s largest luxury car maker by sales, has been particularly hard hit due to its large exposure to the troubled U.S. market.
CEO Reithofer said that “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.” Wall Street Journal
Paying tribute to Theissen’s leadership of BMW Sauber, who finished third in last year’s championship, Reithofer added: “Mario has been in charge of our motorsports program since 1999. We have scored a large number of successes in this period, including some in Formula One racing. I would like to express my sincere gratitude to Mario Theissen and his team for this.”
Theissen commented: “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.” Formula 1
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