BMW in Formula One

Entries in the 1950s and 1960s

Private BMW racing cars derived from the pre-war BMW 328 chassis were entered in the 1952 and 1953 German Grands Prix. Cars using BMW-derived engines were also fielded by AFM and Veritas in occasional races during this period, which was possible because the championship was run to Formula Two regulations. One modified 328 featured a rear-mounted engine, a layout that later became standard in Formula One. In the 1960s, the German Grand Prix was often held alongside a Formula Two race, allowing BMW F2 cars to participate.

For 1967, Hubert Hahne drove a Lola F2 chassis with an enlarged BMW engine that met Formula One rules, while David Hobbs used the same combination with a standard smaller engine. Hahne returned in 1968 with the same car and finished tenth, BMW's best result to that point. In 1969, BMW entered three of its own 269 F2 chassis for Hahne, Gerhard Mitter, and Dieter Quester, but Mitter died in a practice accident and the team withdrew.

Engine supplier

BMW decided to develop its own turbocharged engine for Formula One after Renault's project showed increasing success, announcing the programme in April 1980. The engine was based on the M10 four-cylinder 1.5-litre normally aspirated unit designed in the late 1950s; its racing derivative, the M12, had already won in Formula Two and other categories. Jochen Neerpasch oversaw Paul Rosche's development of a prototype 1.4-litre turbo engine producing 600 bhp at 2.8 bar, equipped with a single KKK turbocharger and Bosch electronics.

This became the M12/13, which BMW supplied to five teams from 1982 to 1988. Initial talks with Niki Lauda and McLaren for a 1980 campaign were denied by the BMW board, leading Neerpasch to leave for Talbot. Neerpasch had arranged to sell the M12/13 to Talbot, but Rosche and Dieter Stappert successfully argued for a full works commitment, and BMW negotiated an exclusive supply to Brabham.

BMW Sauber

The team retained the Sauber name for the 2006 to 2009 seasons for historical reasons. In its first season, 2006, the team scored two podiums and finished fifth in the Constructors' Championship. The following year it placed second after McLaren's exclusion. Robert Kubica won the team's only Grand Prix at the 2008 Canadian Grand Prix.

After a poor 2009 season, BMW withdrew from Formula One and sold the team back to founder Peter Sauber. For 2006, Nick Heidfeld was signed as lead driver, while Jacques Villeneuve's existing contract was honoured; Robert Kubica became third driver. The team used Sauber's facilities for chassis construction and wind tunnel work, while BMW built the new 2.4-litre P86 V8 engine at its Munich headquarters, replacing the Petronas-badged Ferrari units.

Major sponsors Petronas and Credit Suisse renewed their contracts, and a technical partnership with Intel was announced. The livery featured traditional BMW blue and white with red. Villeneuve scored the team's first points with seventh in Malaysia. A radical 'twin towers' aero enhancement introduced at the French Grand Prix was banned by the FIA for impeding driver vision.