F1: 2009 Season Review

Formula 1

F1: 2009 Season Review – BMW-Sauber

A look back at the 2009 Formula One season for BMW-Sauber...

SPEED Staff | Posted November 23, 2009 Charlotte, NC

Click Here for a look back at the 2009 BMW-Sauber Grand Prix season. (Photo: LAT Photographic)

BMW-Sauber: Formula One Grand Prix Team

Team Principal: Mario Theissen

Drivers: Robert Kubica, Nick Heidfeld

Constructors Finish: 6th (36 points)

Best Finish: 2nd, Kubica: Interlagos

Poles: 0

Chassis: F1.09 Engine: BMW P86/9

http://www.bmw-sauber-f1.com/en

The year began with a great deal of promise, but ended with an uncertain future for the BMW-Sauber team.

In 2008 the team scored its first win courtesy of Robert Kubica and scored podium finishes in nine other races. They finished third in the constructor’s championship and the team hoped to carry that momentum into 2009.

The team seemed slow to catch up to the new regulations and their indecision about whether to use the KERS system in the early part of the season seemed to leave them searching for the speed needed to be competitive. The team’s attention was also drawn away from the track early in the going by their protests of the so-called ‘double diffuser’ aerodynamic concept being used by other teams. Mario Theissen decided to end the protests in April and in June the team abandoned the KERS system.

The only real highlights on the track came with podium finishes in Malaysia and Brazil.

The biggest blow to the team came in July during an FIA mandated three-week holiday, when BMW announced they would be leaving Formula One at the end of the year. The news left team members and drivers in shock.

“When the phone call came, I could scarcely believe it,” Nick Heidfeld said on his official website. “It took a while for the reality to sink in. My reaction was fairly typical, especially because all the members of the team were on holiday and the factory was closed. Everyone had to wait a couple of weeks without knowing or being able to ask what the future held. That was a bad time.”

The team, once owned by Peter Sauber and purchased by BMW in 2005, has found another buyer but currently has no entry on the 2010 grid. That could change after Toyota announced they too would be leaving Formula One, but for the present the future for the ten-year-old organization is very cloudy.

“Clearly there were many factors to take into account,” said Heidfeld. “But all the same, it's such a tremendous pity. BMW set out to win the Formula One title and I think we could have achieved that goal. Now I'm keeping my fingers crossed that Sauber get a place on the grid in 2010.”

Robert Kubica has signed with Renault F1 for 2010, but Heidfeld has no home as of yet. Heidfeld is one of the most experienced drivers on the grid, although he has yet to win a race, he has12 podiums, one pole and 219 points over his 10-year career and should be a valuable commodity to other teams. His name has been mentioned at McLaren and Williams for next season.

“I'm not dissatisfied with my performance in 2009, as I feel that I generally got the maximum out of the car I was given,” said Heidfeld. “But when you're battling for victories and podiums, people look only at the statistics - in the media at least. Fortunately, the people who run the teams can see beyond that. So all in all, I'm quite optimistic about the future.”

PHOTOS: BMW-Sauber 2009 Formula One Grand Prix Season Review