BMW has scored racing successes around the globe with its motorcycles, touring and sports cars, at rallies, in Formula 2 and in Formula One. Yet never has the company lost sight of the importance of promoting young racing talent. Innovative technology for sporting competitions and record-breaking attempts has been an integral aspect of the BMW identity since the company´s fledgling years. It has defined BMW production cars - and made motor sport history.

It all began in 1970 when electrician Peter Sauber set up his own business and began building open two-seater sports cars. It was during this time that he constructed the Sauber C1 in the cellar at his parents´ house. The model designation derived from the first letter of his wife Christiane´s name. With the C1, Sauber went on to win the Swiss Championship, but subsequently only put in sporadic race appearances. By the time Sauber hung up his helmet in 1973, his focus had already turned entirely to the construction side.

On 24th April 1980, BMW announced the company´s first foray into Formula One as an engine supplier. Paul Rosche took a four-cylinder production engine block and rebuilt it to create a 16-valve unit reduced in size to 1.5 litres. Running on a special fuel mixture, and with the help of an exhaust gas turbocharger, the unit started with an output 650 bhp. Later this was increased to reach 1,400 bhp.

It was exactly 630 days since the BMW engine had premiered on the race track, when BMW and Nelson Piquet became Formula One World Champions. At the end of 1987, construction of these BMW F1 engines was halted ? the turbo era of Formula One was over.

Nearly at the same time the first major successes of Sauber began after Peter Sauber had managed to persuade Mercedes to return to the race track. Highlights of the partnership with the Stuttgart carmaker were a one-two finish in the 1989 Le Mans 24 Hours and two consecutive wins of the Manufacturers´ and Drivers´ title in the World Sports Car Championship (1989 and 1990).

When the Mercedes-Benz and PP Sauber AG partnership was debating its racing future in the early 1990s with the demise of the World Sports Car Championship in sight, the subject of Formula One was soon tabled and firmed up as a joint project during the summer of 1991. Preparations in Stuttgart and Hinwil proceeded apace and there seemed no reason not to embark on the new venture. It thus came as a heavy blow to Peter Sauber when, in November 1991, the Mercedes executive board decided against a Formula One involvement for the time being.

It left Peter Sauber sitting on the brand-new high-tech facility established in Hinwil, the comprehensive racing expertise that had been developed with Formula One in mind and the staff taken on to run the project. In January 1992 he resolved to go it alone ? albeit with financial and technical support from Mercedes, but also taking on board the considerable personal risk of joining the sorry ranks of Formula One failures made in Switzerland. Nonetheless, 14th March 1993 saw two Sauber C12 cars ? as planned ? lining up in Kyalami for the South African GP. JJ Lehto´s fifth-placed finish turned it into a debut worthy of celebration. In the history of Formula One, there had only been four teams previously who had collected points in their maiden race.

On 8th September 1997, BMW announced at the Frankfurt Motor Show (IAA) that, following a twelve-year absence, it would be returning to Formula One in 2000 in partnership with WilliamsF1. Starting at 9.26 hrs on 27th April 1999, BMW began its first track test of the Formula One engine, initially at the company´s own test site in Miramas, France. A 1998 chassis from WilliamsF1 served as a test bed, and Müller was behind the wheel. The start of the official FIA test drives on 1st December 1999 in Jerez marked the beginning of the BMW WilliamsF1 Team story.

It was some time before the breakthrough came, but in 2001 there were suddenly three highlights in the team´s history following hot on each other´s heels: a partnership with the major Swiss bank Credit Suisse, confirmation of fourth place in the Constructors´ Championship in mid-October, and a few days later the groundbreaking ceremony for the company´s own wind tunnel. One of the drivers that time was Nick Heidfeld.

The joint venture of BMW and WilliamsF1 kicked off with a sensation: on 12th March 2000 in Australia, Ralf Schumacher ended the first grand prix of the German-British partnership in third place, making it the most successful Formula One debut of an engine manufacturer since 1967. But after a very good start in the early years of the partnership the team got into trouble. 2005 turned out to be the second difficult season in succession: the FW27 proved uncompetitive. The BMW WilliamsF1 Team failed to win any races and dropped to fifth place in the Constructors´ Championship.

The highlights of the season were the races in Monaco and at the Nürburgring. In the Mediterranean principality, former Sauber-driver Nick Heidfeld stepped onto the podium in second place. In the Eifel a week later, Heidfeld took the team´s only pole position and again finished second. Prior to that, Heidfeld had claimed a third-placed finish in Malaysia.

The sixth season together, and the longest in F1 history with 19 grands prix, marked the end of the partnership with WilliamsF1. BMW took over the Swiss Sauber Team in mid-2005 and ran its own F1 team in 2006. The new BMW Sauber F1 Team made it into fifth place in its debut season, helped by two podium places - one by Heidfeld.