BMW is pulling out of Formula One at the end of this season, the second car maker to leave the series within a year as a severe global economic downturn hits new car sales and forces manufacturers to cut costs.
The German company announced the decision at a news conference today, saying it wanted to use the significant F1 budget in other areas. It will remain involved in other forms of motor sport.
“Of course, this was a difficult decision for us. But it’s a resolute step in view of our company’s strategic realignment,” said BMW chairman Norbert Reithofer.
He said the Munich-based car maker would use the resources previously spent on the F1 team to advance “sustainability and environmental compatibility.”
Touted as an F1 championship contender for the 2009 season, BMW had been very disappointing, lagging well off the pace of the leading teams.
BMW’s withdrawal followed that of Japanese car maker Honda ahead of the 2009 season, illustrating the growing pressure upon car makers to cut costs amid the economic downturn.
Their withdrawal also lent credence to efforts by the FIA to significantly reduce F1 costs to retain existing teams and attract new entrants.
The FIA, motor racing’s world governing body, said it hoped BMW was the last manufacturer to leave the series.
“The FIA regrets the announcement of BMW’s intended withdrawal from Formula One, but is not surprised by it,” it said in a statement.
“It has been clear for some time that motor sport cannot ignore the world economic crisis. Car manufacturers cannot be expected to continue to pour large sums of money into Formula One when their survival depends on redundancies, plant closures and the support of the taxpayer. This is why the FIA prepared regulations to reduce costs drastically.”
The FIA also blamed the teams for failing to heed its warnings about the need to cut costs.
“Had these regulations not been so strongly opposed by a number of team principals, the withdrawal of BMW and further such announcements in the future might have been avoided,” the governing body’s statement added.
Mercedes, the other major German car maker involved in Formula One, said it regretted BMW’s pullout, “but it will have no influence on our F1 engagement.”
Georg Stuerzer, an automotive analyst with UniCredit in Munich who follows BMW, estimated BMW was spending approximately 200 million euros (C$307 million) a year on its Formula One involvement.
