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Archive for mario theissen
BMW Out of Formula 1 at End of 2009!
Posted by: | CommentsBMW made it official this morning in a hastily arranged press conference that they will be withdrawing from Formula 1 at the end of 2009. Here is part of it.
“Of course, this was a difficult decision for us. But it’s a resolute step in view of our company’s strategic realignment,” he said.
“Premium will increasingly be defined in terms of sustainability and environmental compatibility. This is an area in which we want to remain in the lead. In line with our Strategy Number ONE, we are continually reviewing all projects and initiatives to check them for future viability and sustainability. Our Formula 1 campaign is thus less a key promoter for us.
“Mario Theissen has been in charge of our motor sports program since 1999. We have scored a large number of successes in this period, including some in Formula 1 racing. I would like to express my sincere gratitude to Mario Theissen and his team for this.”
“Of course, we, the employees in Hinwil and Munich, would all have liked to continue this ambitious campaign and show that this season was just a hiccup following three successful years,” he said. “But I can understand why this decision was made from a corporate perspective. We will now focus sharply on the remaining races and demonstrate our fighting spirit and put in a good result as we bid farewell to Formula 1 racing.”
“It only took us three years to establish ourselves as a top team,” he said. “Unfortunately, we were unable to meet expectations in the current season.
“Nevertheless, our ten years of Formula 1 experience have had a major impact on our development engineers. We have racing to thank for numerous technological innovations as well as the competitive spirit that drives us to develop mass-produced cars.”
Another Poor Day at the Office for BMW Sauber
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Another bad day at the office just about all you need to say to sum up the British Grand Prix from a BMW Sauber stand point. Once again the car suffered badly with tire heating issues from Friday onward. Robert Kubica had one technical issue after another in every practice session leaving him precious little time to track down the proper setup for the car.
Mario Theissen Speaks on FOTA Breakaway From F1
Posted by: | Comments“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.”
Mario Theissen: Analyse, Correct, and Increase Development
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Dear motorsport enthusiasts,
It goes without saying that everyone at the BMW Sauber F1 Team had envisaged the Monaco Grand Prix turning out very differently to what it did. However, what hinted at being a problem in Thursday’s first free practice session set the tone for the entire race weekend, from qualifying to the end of the race. We could not keep the tyres at the optimal operating temperature in Monaco, which resulted in us clearly being to slow.
Letter From Theissen – We’re Moving Forward
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Dear motorsport enthusiasts,
Before the start of European Formula One season in Spain, we were all very curious to see what effect our extensive new aerodynamic package would have in Barcelona. We now know one thing for definite: the modifications have improved the BMW Sauber F1.09. We have taken a big step forwards, and are back in business.
In the second round of qualifying, Robert managed to progress to the top ten with just one set of soft tyres. The fact that we then made a mistake when fitting the tyres is, of course, frustrating. Robert certainly had what it takes to start from a few rows further forward – particularly as the times of all the cars were so close. The field is still extremely close together. The top eleven places in Q2 were separated by just 6 tenths of a second – one small mistake and Q3 is a thing of the past. In the race, the pit team more than made up for their mistake. They worked brilliantly to manoeuvre Nick past his rivals during the pit stops.
Australian Grand Prix: What the BMW Sauber Guys Have to Say
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It’s all change in Formula One as the new season gets underway amid great intrigue and excitement. A raft of rule changes mean the cars will be sporting a totally different look and be fitted with slick tyres. The F1 engines now have to last twice as long as before and those who want (or are able) to will put their faith in a Kinetic Energy Recovery System. The pre-season testing – which the new rules stipulate will be the last of the year – threw up more questions than it answered. Favourites were riddled with worries, despair turned to encouragement for others whose survival in the sport had been in doubt. Preparations may have gone smoothly for the BMW Sauber F1 Team, but putting a finger on its progress remains a tricky business. The crystal-ball gazing will come to an end, however, on Saturday 28th March 2009. At 17.00 hrs local time (07:00 hrs in Central Europe) qualifying will finally get underway for the Australian Grand Prix in Melbourne.
Theissen and Mosley Talk KERS….hmm
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Mario Theissen is a great fan of KERS right? We know that and so is Max Mosley, but that’s where it ends and so it should. Mosley doesn’t like the idea of the electric KERS system and Mario Theissen obviously does as it’s the one installed in the F1.09 and recently they exchanged words through the media on the subject that were most interesting.
At the F1.09 launch, Mario Theissen said that he felt the flywheel KERS technology had really no application for the road car industry etc.
Who’s Right, Theissen or Kubica?
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There’s no question KERS is worth a lot in terms of money, but in race safety, race implementation and usefulness, and the continuous build up in development costs, is KERS really worth the effort?
Recently Robert Kubica voiced his opinion on how he feels about KERS and the possibility it may actually hinder him. Sebastian Vettel spoke up about weather it is safe or not. No one really seems to know if it is. Ferrari have broken their budget on the development of KERS and it’s race value hasn’t even been measured.
Discontent Within BMW Sauber?
Posted by: | CommentsMedia buzz alert! Stories are flying about the media that Robert Kubica has publicly complained that Mario Theissen is favoring Nick Heidfeld over him. I find that a little hard to believe. Yes, it isn’t a secret Heidfeld has had a tough time with the F1.08 this year particularly with tire temperatures during qualifying and a lot of attention has been focused on that issue. Of course that would be the case, but now, after the Belgian Grand Prix where Heidfeld changed to intermediate tires with one lap to go and Kubica did not, some media must have though something was up and I believe they’ve probably taken an answer to a question Kubica was asked completely out of context just to create a controversy. Now that’s never happened in F1 has it? 
Now this type of complaining just isn’t Robert’s style, yet he does demand a lot from his engineer and the team. This along with 2 less than stellar outings in Valencia and in Belgium fuels the media hunger for a BMW Sauber story. Let’s face it, there aren’t too many controversial stories to be found with this team and maybe it was time for a good juicy story.
Heidfeld Moves Closer to 2009 Seat
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The GP on Sunday probably couldn’t have gone better for Nick Heidfeld, but it didn’t seem that way for much of the race. However, by the end of the day getting on the podium had to be a huge relief and only a couple of hours later he climbed up one notch on the podium to 2nd. Nick’s troubled year needed something like that and it should help his confidence somewhat given that Mario Theissen is praising his race to everyone who will listen.
The decision to come in to the pits with only 2 laps to go to switch to intermediate tires appears to have been Nick’s call and really that shows just how savvy a driver he is. It turned out to be a great call as Nick passed 4 cars on his way to 3rd place before being bumped up one to second.