Formula One: Williams Lose Bmw Power

In a move which may have dramatic political consequences for the sport, BMW yesterday ditched its partnership with Williams by announcing that it had bought the Swiss-based Sauber team, who have yet to win a grand prix.

The move could severely weaken plans for a breakaway world championship in 2008, once the current Concorde agreement expires.

Williams-BMW have been aligned with McLaren-Mercedes at the hawkish end of the group of seven teams who are threatening to split with Bernie Ecclestone and start a separate championship unless they get a bigger share of the sport's commercial revenues.

Now Williams will almost certainly have to negotiate with Honda and Toyota to secure a supply of engines next season, and that would mean embracing a more moderate stance in line with the Japanese car manufacturers' belief that there must not be a breakaway series.

Alternatively Williams could preserve their independence by opting for the Cosworth V8 engine, but that would cost about $10m (£5.5m) a year, a far cry from their current free supply and an estimated $30m a year from BMW.

Williams, whose partnership with BMW was supposed to run until 2009, have been offered the German engines for next season to ease the transition, but the team's management has always displayed an independent streak and will want to make other arrangements as quickly as possible. "There is absolutely no comment on this and that might be the case for some time," a spokesman said.

Cracks had recently begun to show in the relationship, with Williams' director of engineering Patrick Head launching a scathing attack on BMW's director of motor sport Mario Theissen before the Canadian grand prix in retaliation for criticism of his team.

Peter Sauber's decision to sell to BMW, meanwhile, provides a tidy ending to the involvement of the popular Swiss, whose cars first competed in the 1993 South African grand prix. "The partnership with BMW is an ideal solution as it supports the two goals which have always been paramount for me," he said in Munich yesterday. "Firstly to offer the team the possibility of improving their performance and secondly to safeguard the site at Hinwil and the jobs of today's 300-strong workforce."

It is believed that Sauber, 61, and his partner Credit Suisse have been paid about $100m for a majority stake and the factory at Hinwil, near Zurich, will be expanded.

BMW's decision to buy reflects its disappointment with Williams. Since joining forces in 2000 they have won 10 races but have failed to win the world championship, something which BMW confidently expected.

"The realignment of our formula one strategy is based on two insights," said Theissen. "Firstly, the influence of the engine on the winning potential of the overall package has diminished; the car, tyres and drivers play a greater role than they used to. Secondly, an optimal overall package can only be achieved with a fully integrated team and coherent processes.

"At Sauber we have found a solid foundation for vehicle development and production, along with the know-how and one of the most modern wind tunnels. The results achieved there so far are worthy of respect in the light of the team's limited budget."