The Stunning Withdrawal of BMW From Formula One
Formula One is the pinnacle of technology in motorsports. It is also incredibly expensive to participate in. The 2009 season has revolved around this issue off the track as the teams and governing authority have tried to cut costs. Even with a deal in place, BMW has stunned the field by announcing its withdrawal from the sport on July 29, 2009.
The BMW decision is both shocking and fascinating. The manufacturer has been involved in the sport off and on throughout the 1980s and 1990s as an engine supplier. In the late 1990s, it became more involved as a partner for the Williams Team. In 2005, BMW purchased the independent Sauber Team and turned it into the factory team for the company known as BMW Sauber. The fascinating thing about the announcement today is that BMW is leaving F1 entirely. The company will not even supply engines to other teams.
F1 is often looked at like owning a sailboat. The definition of a sailboat, as any owner knows, is a hole in the water you throw money into. Well, the same is true with average F1 budgets running in the $200 million dollar range. While it is understandable that BMW might want to save money in the current climate, it appears to be flushing all of its previous investments down the proverbial drain. Nobody is sure what BMW paid for Sauber, but you know it was a pretty penny.
So, what will happen to the staff, drivers and facilities of BMW Sauber? The team seems to be holding out hope a buyer can be found. The obvious model would be the transition the Honda team made to Brawn GP. The circumstances, however, are very different. Simply put, there is no Ross Brawn figure with the team now and the pool of potential buyers available at the moment is incredibly small. While the economic mess may have stabilized, things have not improved much at all across the world.
Formula One is now down to four big manufacturers – Ferrari, McLaren Mercedes, Toyota and Renault. Ferrari is set to remain in the field, but the other three are a bit iffy at the moment. McLaren will always be there, but Mercedes is known to be reviewing its participation. The teams must commit contractually this week to racing through 2012. It will be interesting to see if any of these teams, particularly Renault, leave the sport as BMW has done.
Will BMW be missed in Formula One? Yes. The team has had a horrible season this year, but it was still set up to be a major player in future years. The return of Formula One to a status where there are more and more independent teams is not good. We could be looking at a return to the times of one or two teams being dominant compared to the rest of the field. That is not good for the racing.
