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Mario Theissen Speaks on FOTA Breakaway From F1
By · CommentsThe Formula One Teams’ Association announced on Thursday night that it has decided to setup a breakaway championship and not go into Max Mosley’s proposals to enter Formula One under the cost cap regulations. BMW Motorsport Director Mario Theissen gave a following statement over the historic event in the sport.
“The FOTA teams endeavoured to the very end to reach an agreement, but regrettably the FIA refused to back down from its rigid position, insisting that the teams must first sign up before there could be any negotiations on the rules. This was unacceptable to us.
“FOTA therefore has no choice but to press ahead with preparations for an alternative championship. In the series organised by FOTA, the best drivers and the best teams will compete against each other. This will take place within a stable set of regulations and a transparent management structure. We will also take into account the wishes of the fans, who have lent us a great deal of support particularly in recent weeks.
“Since its founding in September of last year, FOTA has been committed to cutting costs in Formula One, enhancing its appeal and supporting independent teams. During this short period of time, more has been achieved than ever before in the history of Formula One.
“We will not be making any further statements on the matter during this weekend. We want to concentrate fully on the race and provide the fans with the spectacle they deserve.”
BMW Sauber Should Scrap KERS all Together
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The off season when following the development of the KERS KERS system was an exciting, but up and down time for BMW Sauber and now early in June KERS hasn’t featured on the F1.09 since before the Spanish Grand Prix and even then it was Robert Kubica’s only race with the system on board. Kubica’s weight issue prevented his usage of the system and during the process of introducing 2 major revisions to the car in Spain and Turkey with Monaco in between, it’s usage has almost disappeared. Now with the British Grand Prix only a week and a half away, Theissen isn’t even sure it will re appear then either.
BMW Sauber has been a major proponent of the KERS system and it’s development from the get go and only a few days ago was the system voted down for next season by FOTA. Theissen still believes in the system, but as a member of FOTA will go along with their decision to not use it for 2010.
The question that has been posed recently by the media is this. Should BMW Sauber stop or dramatically slow down development of the F1.09 in favour of next year’s car (presumably the F1.10)? It is an interesting question and a good one at that. The championship is gone for 2009, a championship they were aiming a good run at before the season started. From talking to other BMW Sauber fans the answer to that comes pretty equally both ways. Many are just fed up and say cut your losses, finish whatever modifications are on the table and then focus on next season. Others obviously say no including Dr. Mario Theissen who is adamant on bringing the F1.09 up to a competitive level and challenge for serious points.
Do you have an artistic flair? Are you a Nick Heidfeld Fan? Quick Nick has launched a campaign giving fans the chance to design the helmet livery for the helmet he will wear at his home grand Prix at the Nurburgring in July. Do you think you have what it takes? Heidfeld’s helmet designer will choose the winning design and take it to the Schuberth, the company making the helmet to have the winning livery added to it.
A New Begining for BMW Sauber Starting in Turkey
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After 2 major upgrades to the F1.09 which included a new aero package for Spain, and now more updates to the aero with the addition of a ‘first situation’ double diffuser in Turkey, the results are beginning to show. All you need to do is look at sector times as compared to any of the previous 3 or 4 grand prix to see the difference. The season is not lost, not yet. The championship may be, but respect as a contender once again is not.
The Turkish Grand Prix itself was an exciting race for BMW Sauber in that Kubica and Heidfeld’s starting grid positions were far better than we would have hoped for without this weekends upgrades if they hadn’t had an effect. 10th and 11th on the grid were a major lift to previous frustration and anguish and set the stage for a much better race and indeed that is what we BMW Sauber fans got.
Turkish Grand Prix Results – Button Once Again
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| Position | Driver | Team | Laps | Time | Points |
| 1 | Jenson Button | Brawn GP | 58 | Winner | 10 |
| 2 | Mark Webber | Red Bull | 58 | +6.7 secs | 8 |
| 3 | Sebastian Vettel | Red Bull | 58 | +7.4 secs | 6 |
| 4 | Jarno Trulli | Toyota | 58 | +27.8 secs | 5 |
| 5 | Nico Rosberg | Williams | 58 | +31.5 secs | 4 |
| 6 | Felipe Massa | Ferrari | 58 | +39.9 secs | 3 |
| 7 | Robert Kubica | BMW Sauber | 58 | +46.2 secs | 2 |
| 8 | Timo Glock | Toyota | 58 | +46.9 secs | 1 |
| 9 | Kimi Raikkonen | Ferrari | 58 | +50.2 secs | |
| 10 | Fernando Alonso | Renault | 58 | +62.4 secs | |
| 11 | Nick Heidfeld | BMW Sauber | 58 | +64.3 secs | |
| 12 | Kazuki Nakajima | Williams | 58 | +66.3 secs | |
| 13 | Lewis Hamilton | Renault | 58 | +80.4 secs | |
| 14 | Heikki Kovalainen | McLaren | 57 | +1 Lap | |
| 15 | Sebastien Buemi | Toro Rosso | 57 | +1 Lap | |
| 16 | Nelson Piquet Jr. | Renault | 57 | +1 Lap | |
| 17 | Adrian Sutil | Force India | 57 | +1 Lap | |
| 18 | Sebastien Bourdais | Toro Rosso | 57 | +1 Lap | |
| 19 | Rubens Barrichello | Brawn Gp | +11 Lap | dnf | |
| 20 | Giancarlo Fisichella | Force India | +54 Laps | dnf |
New Diffuser and Aero Package Improve BMW Sauber
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With a new diffuser and modifications to the overall aero package we have finally seen some serious improvements to the F1.09. For both Nick Heidfeld and Robert Kubica, qualifying for the Turkish Grand Prix was the best they have had since Australia where Kubica qualified 4th and Heidfeld 11th. Starting with the practice sessions it was clear the gap between them and the rest of the competitive field had shrunk to an attainable level. Kubica was the most productive in the way of lap times throughout the sessions, but Heidfeld collected valuable setup data that paid off for qualifying.