BMW to Pull Out of F1

German car manfufacturer BMW has announced that it will leave Formula 1 at the end of the current season during a press conference in Munich this morning. This just three years after taking over the Sauber team.

BMW claim they are leaving Formula 1 to concentrate more on projects which promote environmental sustainability.

Hmm. I think more likely the fact that they are languishing in eighth place in the constructors Championship this year (when they thought they would be title challengers) coupled with the failure of their KERS system, could possibly have something to do with it!

In the current economic climate BMW it seems clear do not have the stomach to plough even more cash into developing a new car for 2010 following this year's dismal failure.

The fate of Mario Theissen and the F1 staff at Munich and Hinwil in Switzerland is still in the balance as BMW has not yet decided whether to try and sell the team outright or disband it.

The departure of BMW, which was not entirely unexpected according to the FIA, follows that of Honda earlier this year. It is now feared other F1 teams including Toyota and Renault may be reviewing their position.

BMW has said it will remain "actively involved" in other categories including touring cars and world superbikes as well as the Formula BMW championship for young drivers.

In my view it seems strange that BMW would want to continue to support an open wheel championship when they are no longer involved in F1, but hey, lots of things don't make sense nowadays!