Peter Sauber has taken control of the BMW Sauber F1 Team
BMW has pulled out of the deal with Qadbak to take control of its F1 Team and will instead sell it back to Peter Sauber.
BMW is getting out fo Motorsport in a big way. Not only has it left F1 but it’s rumoured that they are also pulling out of WTCC after narrowly losing out to SEAT. But at least the BMW F1 Team looks likely to survive almost intact.
BMW had planned on selling the F1 setup to the rather mysterious Qadbak investments, the same shadowy investment company that recenty took control of Notts County. But it seems that Qadbak – which purported to be run by a Middle East family – appears to be a front for a Dubai-based British scammer who was intent on getting his hands on the Sauber BMW share of the F1 pot for coming sixth in the 2009 F1 series.
So all bets are off with Qadbak and Peter Sauber is to buy back the BMW F1 setup on condition they manage to get a grid slot for 2010. Peter Sauber has raised the investment needed to buy back the team he sold to BMW in 2005, but how much he paid to get it back hasn’t been disclosed.
It does look as if – subject to the grid spot – Sauber F1 will be back in action in 2010, albeit with a slimmed-down operation. Reports say the workforce will be slimmed by a third in order to cut costs. In effect, Peter Sauber is trying to do with the BMW team what Ross Brawn did with Honda F1.
If he achieves half of what Ross Brawn did in 2009, Peter Sauber will be a happy boy.
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