Toyota to announce F1 exit

Toyota Motor Corporation will announce on Wednesday its decision to pull out of Formula One with immediate effect...  

Ecclestone thinkgs Sauber solution can be found

Nov.1 (GMM) Bernie Ecclestone sounds confident a solution will be found to allow the newly Qadbak-owned Sauber team to take its place on the 2010 grid.

Bahrain may open 2010 calendar

Aug.27 (GMM) Melbourne could lose its place at the very top of next year's formula one calendar, it was rumoured in the Spa-Francorchamps paddock on Thursday.

Bahrain, not Australia, may open 2010 calendar

Melbourne could lose its place at the very top of next year's Formula One calendar, it was rumoured in the Spa-Francorchamps paddock on Thursday...  

Sauber withdraw from Formula One

• Team confirm withdrawal at press conference in Munich• Honda also pulled out of the sport in DecemberBMW Sauber today confirmed they are to withdraw from Formula One at the end of the 2009 season.The announcement, made at the team's headquarters in Munich, means BMW are the second major manufacturer to pull out of the sport in the space of eight months following Honda's withdrawal in December.The news comes ahead of the imminent signing this week of a new Concorde Agreement, the commercial document that governs F1 and binds the teams to the sport for the length of the contract.Dr Norbert Reithofer, chairman of the Board of Management of BMW, said the decision was "difficult" but "a resolute step in view of our company's strategic realignment.""Premium will be increasingly defined in terms of sustainability and environmental compatibility," said Reithofer. "This is an area in which we want to remain in the lead. We are continually reviewing all projects and initiatives to check them for future viability and sustainability. Our Formula One campaign is thus less a key promoter for us."However Formula One chief Bernie Ecclestone said he believes BMW's failure to challenge for the world title is behind their withdrawal."Recently when I spoke to Mario Theissen, the team manager, he said they had three years to win the world championship," Ecclestone told the BBC. "That's what he wanted to do and he was quite confident they would. But it appears it's not quite been like that, so perhaps that's why they've [chosen] to stop."BMW drivers Nick Heidfeld and Robert Kubica have amassed only eight points between them this season to leave their team eighth in the constructors' championship."If I was looking after their politics, if you want to say that, I'd hardly say that we decided to leave because of our performance over the last three years," he added. "When you consider how much money they've spent and the results they've got, it's probably not such a good investment."They were quite sure that they were going to win the championship within three years, and I was hoping they would."BMW had made rapid strides in F1 since taking over Sauber ahead of the 2006 season, scoring two podium finishes and claiming fifth in the constructors' championship that year. But this season the team have been a major disappointment after failing to get to grips with the introduction of new regulations, taking just eight points from 10 races so far.BMW's issues have been compounded by the fact that despite Ferrari and McLaren making similarly slow starts, those two teams are back up to speed, leaving the German marque at the back of the grid."Mario Theissen has been in charge of our motorsport's program since 1999," added Reithofer. "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 and his team for this."SauberFormula OneMotor sportguardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media Limited 2009 | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds

F1 saga to be over 'within one week' - Theissen

A final resolution to F1's political situation is unlikely to be settled in Hungary this weekend, but the end is nigh, Mario Theissen told reporters in Budapest on Thursday...