VALENCIA, Spain — BMW Sauber confirmed its commitment to Formula One on Tuesday after losing one of its main sponsors as it heads into a season of uncertainty brought on by the global economic crisis and major regulation changes.
Team principal Mario Theissen said Swiss bank Credit Suisse Group’s decision to pull its sponsorship of the F1 team on Monday had not left it with a big hole to fill.
“We are fully committed to Formula One. This does not affect in any way our engagement in Formula One,” Theissen said from the Cheste Circuit in Valencia, where BMW Sauber unveiled its 2009 car. “Our budget is very similar to last season and it is secure for the season so everything is set.”
Theissen said the German team was currently looking to fill two or three sponsorship spots, but given the current economic climate, that was proving more difficult than usual. Honda pulled out of F1 in December.
“The current economic situation also affects sponsors. It is definitely more difficult now to convince a potential sponsor that they need to go to Formula One these days,” Theissen said.
Theissen’s budget was reduced by 30 percent with further cuts expected to come as the team prefers to trim money over layoffs. But the decision to ban in-season testing means that BMW Sauber will drop most of its in-season testing team.
Governing body FIA wants to make the sport more affordable and more exciting, pushing through aerodynamics modifications that are supposed to provide more overtaking.
FIA’s vision to cut costs while maintaining the sport as the pinnacle of technology are BMW Sauber’s focus for now.
“As soon as we have an agreement on the technology and the sporting regulations, the next thing we will focus on is the show,” Theissen said. “We could and we should do much better, we can do much better for the fans. There are a lot of ideas on the table and this is the next big task of FOTA (Formula One Teams Association).
“There is no either-or — we have to achieve both.”
BMW Sauber drivers Robert Kubica and Nick Heidfeld expect the 2009 cars to offer little improvement in overtaking.
BMW Sauber has championed the KERS energy recovery system since its advent, despite teams not being obligated to run the hybrid technology this season.
On Monday, Renault team boss Flavio Briatore criticized BMW Sauber for forcing KERS on the rest of the teams while adding that the technology was too expensive and dangerous.
“We probably have been the strongest supporter. KERS is important for Formula One because it will put Formula One into the role of a true technology pioneer,” Theissen said, while adding that the Germans hadn’t overspent to accommodate it, while the benefits were already carrying over to road technology.
“It’s important for BMW because we have spent a lot of effort on it. When discussing the costs of KERS, we agreed it’s quite significant, but … when (the teams) discussed it a few months ago most of the money had been spent already, money on development and it would be the worse thing to spend money on something you don’t use.”
BMW Sauber is confident that safety has been improved after one of its mechanics was hospitalized after being shocked by the KERS system in testing last July.
“We understand what happened, it was a clear cause,” BMW Sauber managing director Walter Riedl said. “We chaired a KERS safety working group which all teams were involved and we were very open to explain what the problem was and what the measures were to cope with that.”
Theissen expects costs to drop for 2010 since the car concept will basically remain the same.
Kubica and Heidfeld were against any drop in drivers’ salary since not all drivers are paid the same, while test driver Christian Klien was fretting about his own future following the decision to scrap testing.
Klien believes having a more experienced driver in as the No. 3 will be more important than ever since he might have to jump straight into the car without any preparation.
“It’s getting hard for test drivers. There’s some testing before the start of the season but then the whole year there is really nothing at all,” Klien said. “I hope they rethink a bit this regulation a little bit so that it allows time for the test drivers to test and maybe to do something else on Friday, like two or three years ago that there was a third driver who could race.”
All BMW Sauber staff were in agreement against one potential rule change — Bernie Ecclestone’s desire to switch from a points-based system to a medals one.
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