BMW's pursuit of the F1 World Championship
Formula 1 has a higher profile internationally than almost any other motorsport and as a result is perhaps the most hotly contested of them all, at least in financial terms. In fact, more money is spent on F1 than any other team sport, including the likes of basketball and football - let alone other giant motorsports such as NASCAR and IndyCar. For a carmaker appearing as a sponsor, supplier or especially a partner to a particular F1 team can be a priceless marketing tool, particularly if that team is a success. And no manufacturer is more aware of this fact than BMW.
The German firm has competed in 14 Formula 1 seasons to date: first from 1982 to 1987 as a supplier of engines, and then again as a racing team partner from 2000 to 2007. In that time BMW parts and partnerships have claimed around 20 Grand Prix victories, and its cars have been graced by such well-known drivers as Nelson Piquet, Gerhard Berger and Ralf Schumacher. BMW and Brabham
The first BMW engine to make it into F1 was a turbocharged M12/13 in 1982, a close relative of the classic M10 that debuted on the BMW 1500 back in 1961. However, once fitted into a Brabham car the 20-year-old design proved itself more than capable out on the track, and team driver Nelson Piquet actually went on to win the Formula One World Championship with it the following year.
Victories like this meant that soon, Brabham was not the only team using BMW's powerful 4-cylinder. ATS followed suit in the 1983 season; Arrows in 1984; and Benetton, then competing for the first time, in 1986. However that year saw a change of fortunes at Brabham, which lost Piquet to Williams and saw another team driver, Elio de Angelis, die tragically as the result of an accident during testing. Tighter safety regulations adopted in the wake of Angelis' death meant that turbocharged engines like the M12/13 would soon be banned from the sport. In the face of all this, BMW decided to withdraw from Formula 1 after 1987. BMW and Williams
When BMW returned to F1 in 2000 it did so as a partner, rather than simply as a supplier of engines, to the Williams team, after signing a 6-year agreement in 1998 (the intervening two seasons of which were taken up with sports car racing, leading to a BMW-powered victory in the 1999 24 Hours of Le Mans race). One of the terms of this agreement was that Williams should field a German driver, and so Ralf Schumacher was picked in 2000 alongside his British team mate Jensen Button.
Five moderately successful seasons were to follow, with several wins for Schumacher and new driver Juan Pablo Montoya, the replacement for Button in 2001. However in 2005, a running dispute over which partner was to blame for that season's technical failures came to a head. BMW maintained that the car itself was to blame, whereas Williams blamed the engine. A wounded BMW lost interest in the F1 V10 it was then developing and the team floundered as a result, failing to win even one Grand Prix that year. BMW and Sauber
Disillusioned with F1 partnerships, BMW's next impulse was to go it alone. Accordingly the firm split with Williams in 2005 and bought a team all to itself. This was Sauber, a Swiss outfit which had been competing in Formula 1 since 1993 with support from Mercedes, and later Ferrari. Sauber had never won a race, set a fastest lap or qualified in pole position, but it did have the R&D facilities (specifically a brand new, multi-million dollar race car development centre) that BMW needed to field a competitive team in time for the '06 season.
BMW Sauber F1 went on to have a respectable first season's racing; drivers Nick Heidfeld and former World Champion Jacques Villeneuve racking up a number of top-ten finishes and a place on the podium at both the Hungarian and Italian Grands Prix. Overall, BMW Sauber finished fifth in the constructor's championship, with high hopes for 2007 - its new, faster car performing admirably in pre-season training. BMW car insurance
If you're an avid F1 fan, chances are that BMW's reputation for impeccably sporty saloons and coupes has been hard to resist. Perfectly balanced handling and effortless acceleration are hallmarks of its entire range, and getting behind the wheel of a BMW must be one of the most satisfying driving experiences (outside of the race track) you could wish for.
Another good reason to buy BMW is the availability of surprisingly cheap car insurance from Hoot Car Insurance Services. Our experts have come up with a new type of policy created specifically for BMW drivers, which offers all the benefits of our regular insurance at a substantially reduced price. In fact, some BMW owners have saved up to 30 percent by switching to Hoot.
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