|
 |
| Base: |
Munich, Germany/Hinwil, Switzerland |
|
| Drivers: |
N Heidfeld |
|
R Kubica |
|
| Test Drivers: |
M Asmer |
|
C Klien |
| Chassis: |
F1.08 |
| Engine: |
BMW |
| Tyres: |
Bridgestone Potenza |
| First Season: |
1993 |
| World Championships: |
0 |
| Highest race finish: |
2 |
| Pole Positions: |
0 |
| Fastest Laps: |
0 |
|
History
BMW Sauber has one clear aim for the 2008 season – scoring its first Formula 1 victory.
For a team not known for brash statements, this is clearly a target it believes it can achieve.
Two years of consistent progress since taking over perennial midfielders Sauber has resulted in the Munich manufacturer becoming F1's third strongest team.
On-track performance gains have gone hand-in-hand with the build-up of technical capabilities and staff numbers at its newly-expanded Hinwil base in Switzerland.
BMW is now confident it has the foundation from which to launch an assault on Ferrari and McLaren.
To do that this year, then it must make a significant step forward in performance for the third straight winter.
If fifth place in the constructors' championship in 2006 was an unexpected bonus in what it thought would be a transitional year, last's year's form exceeded all expectations.
Points in every single race was the result – 101 in total – with Nick Heidfeld in particular revelling in the new-found speed and taking fully merited podiums in Canada and Hungary.
Heidfeld and young team-mate Robert Kubica remain the men entrusted by team boss Mario Theissen to deliver BMW's F1 ambitions.
Theissen has no doubts his drivers can deliver; now it's up to the team to fulfil its part of the bargain with the new F1.08.
F1 track record
After two prolonged spells as an F1 engine supplier, BMW decided to go it alone from 2006.
Its first serious foray into the sport in the 1980s had seen it power Brabham to the ‘83 world title, while also supplying power plants to Benetton, ATS and Arrows.
After quitting at the end of the turbo era in '87, it returned 13 years on with Williams.
The relationship lasted six seasons, but 10 wins and a championship near-miss in 2003 was hardly the level of success both parties craved.
By 2005 strains in the partnership were beginning to show and it came as no surprise when the inevitable split was announced.
By then Theissen had convinced the BMW board to bankroll its own F1 operation to ensure its future destiny was in its own hands.
And so it weighed up the options of starting a new team from scratch or buying an existing operation – with the decision being to takeover and transform perennial midfielders Sauber.
The purchase of the small Swiss squad was a calculated gamble, as it had achieved just six third place finishes in 12 years.
But it did boast impressive technical capabilities, such as a newly-constructed state-of-the-art wind tunnel.
It took control in January 2006 and put in place a blueprint for progress over the next four years – targeting consistent points finishes in 2006, podiums by 2007, wins in 2008 and a title challenge in 2009.
View Site Map
|
