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BMW Quits Formula OneBMW quits Formula One in a simply stunning move. Yes, the rumors turned out to be true. BMW will quit F1 as of the end of the 2009 season.
July 29, 2009 will go down as a day in infamy for Formula One and BMW. The boys from Germany tossed in the towel on their F1 effort in both a stunning and somewhat bizarre decision. Formula One represents the cutting edge of auto racing, but it also costs a large fortune to be remotely competitive. After spending a bundle of money over the last 9 years and last 4 specifically, the decision of BMW to leave raises huge questions.
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What has been the dominant story of the 2009 Formula One season? The on track racing has been interesting, but the turmoil off the track has the spotlight. The battle between Max Mosley and the teams over cost cutting was a knock down, drawn out brawl. We are talking the thrilla in Manilla here! BMW was one of the teams fighting the hardest, which makes it all the odder that the team is now leaving because the racing is too expensive!
BMW had dabbled in Formula One as an engine supplier. It wasn’t until the turn of the century that the company started getting serious. First there came a relationship with the Williams Team that produced wins, but no championships. When that relationship started falling apart, the boys at Beemer looked around and decided to form their own team. Well, not form so much as buy. The Sauber Team was snapped up and we had BMW Sauber on the grid for the 2006 season.
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BMW Sauber followed a methodical progression. The team won its first, and now last, race in Canada in 2008. It and Robert Kubica were front and center in both the driver and constructor championships that year. 2009 was to be the breakthrough year, but a host of new regulations required every team on the grid to do a complete redesign. BMW produced a dog of a car, but so did Ferrari, McLaren and Renault. While those teams have recovered to be competitive, BMW has not. One can’t help but think that contributed to the decision.
So, what now? BMW will try to sell the team and facilities. Good luck in this market! It seems much likelier that the team will fold and lose its key staff members and drivers. After such an optimistic start, it is sad to see BMW quit Formula One in such sad shape.
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