JUNE 22, 2005

BMW to buy Sauber

BMW will announce this afternoon that it has decided to buy Sauber. The German manufacturer has decided to follow the advice of BMW Motorsport director Mario Theissen to take over the Sauber team and the interesting thing now will be to see what Williams does. All the signs are that a deal will be struck with Toyota for 2006.

The news means that BMW is planning to be in F1 for the long-term given that making Sauber competitive will not be the work of a moment. The team has been using top-quality Ferrari engines for a number of years and has never really been a frontrunner. Obviously the purchase will mean BMW must invest heavily in the team.