BMW Sauber F1 Team 2006 press kit

Contents. 1. Team. 2 Fresh start. 2 Warm up. 5 Who's who. 8 Pit
stop in Munich. 9 Pit stop in Hinwil. 11 2. Season. 12 Grand prix
information. 12 Looking ahead. 15 Regulations. 24 3. Technology.
26 Chassis. 26 Engine. 34 Stats and facts. 45 4. Drivers. 48
Nick Heidfeld. 48 Jacques Villeneuve. 57 5. Management. 66 Mario
Theissen. 66 Heinz Paschen. 69 Willy Rampf. 71 6. History. 73
BMW Motorsport. 73 Sauber. 94 7. Press service. 100 Contacts.
100 Services. 102 Fresh start. From zero up to race speed in 262
days. Munich. It was set in concrete as the day dawned on 22nd June
2005: BMW would for the first time be running its own team in the FIA
Formula One World Championship, starting the very next season - 2006.
On the afternoon of that same day in June, the Board of Management's
decision was announced to the public at large. It was the starting
signal for the race before the race: with just 262 days to go, the
combined pulling power of a 600-strong team had to get things moving
from standstill up to race speed. On 12th March 2006 in Bahrain, the BMW
Sauber F1 Team will launch its first season with the BMW Sauber F1.06,
driven by Nick Heidfeld and Jacques Villeneuve. As Professor Burkhard
Göschel, BMW Board Member for Development and Purchasing, points
out: "This project represents a strong, long-term commitment to
Formula One on BMW's part. For the BMW Group, Formula One acts as a
high-tech laboratory and technology accelerator. This synergistic
effect has already had a very positive impact in our six years as an
engine partner. But you can't win races with an engine alone, which is
why we wanted to be involved in all the success factors. In keeping with
that, we have now taken on overall responsibility. Formula One seems
tailor-made for BMW's brand values, and there's no other sporting event
that generates so much attention on such a regular basis worldwide. In
2006 we will primarily be building up experience. In 2005 Sauber came
eighth in the Constructors' World Championship. That is our starting
point, and I can see plenty of upside potential." "To set
up a new team is a huge challenge", says Professor Mario Theissen,
who as BMW Motorsport Director oversees all of BMW's racing
involvements. "Our concept includes boosting staff numbers,
expanding the facility in Hinwil, an intensive development programme
and the networking of all activities in Munich and Hinwil. The division
of labour is as follows: Munich is in charge of the powertrain and
electronics, Hinwil is responsible for the chassis and race deployment.
We will be recruiting more than 100 new staff in Switzerland. The key
priorities will be to convert the wind tunnel from single to
three-shift operation as well as setting up an autonomous test team. The
Hinwil wind tunnel is outstandingly good. Overall, the factory is good
but not yet big enough. The extension plans, which include new offices
as well as development and production facilities, have been drawn up
and we expect planning permission to come through in spring of 2006.
All measures will be fully implemented by the end of 2007. The 2006
season will be a year of development. That also applies to the
technical package, whose concept was already largely established in
Munich and Hinwil before the takeover. In 2006 we aim to grow together
and maximise our potential." After 13 years as a team principal in
Formula One, Peter Sauber has stepped back from the operational side of
the business. Now 62, he will act as advisor to the new team. "I
was delighted that Sauber is to remain part of the team name. I shall
be keeping a close eye on the progress of the BMW Sauber F1 Team. I'm
especially pleased for the staff in Hinwil, who will now have the
opportunity to demonstrate their skills with the support of their
colleagues from BMW." Two adoptive Swiss in the cockpit. They've
long known each other, they've both raced for Sauber before, they both
live in Switzerland - but they've never before been team-mates. Drivers
Nick Heidfeld and Jacques Villeneuve can look back on a combined tally
of 250 grands prix. Heidfeld (28) made his Formula One debut at the
start of the 2000 season and competed for the Swiss racing team from
2001 to 2003. His best results so far are the two second places he
claimed for the BMW WilliamsF1 Team in the 2005 season. He also took a
pole position in the same year. The man from Mönchengladbach,
whose daughter - and first child - was born in July 2005, has 98 race
starts under his belt. "I'm really looking forward to the new
season and the new team, many of whom I already know from years
past", says Heidfeld. "Besides, I can get to Hinwil in 15
minutes by car, which is a real advantage. It's natural for a racing
driver to be impatient when it comes to achieving success, but we need
to be realistic. For me the most important thing is that we're moving
in the right direction. We have to work hard and make steady
progress." No other driver in Formula One has risen to World
Champion status as rapidly as Jacques Villeneuve. In 1996, his debut
year, the Canadian already finished as runner-up behind his then
Williams-Renault team-mate Damon Hill. Then in 1997 he beat Michael
Schumacher to the title for Williams-Renault. In 152 grands prix he has
taken eleven victories and claimed pole 13 times. After five years with
the BAR team, it seemed his F1 career was over in 2003. But then he was
given the chance to compete in the final three races of season 2004 for
Renault. In 2005, the son of the famous Ferrari driver Gilles Villeneuve
was signed up by Sauber. "Building up a new team is a very complex
task", says Villeneuve looking ahead to 2006. "I've already
been through it in the past. But I think we've got a number of good
prerequisites coming together here. I'll be doing my very best to help
the BMW Sauber F1 Team achieve success." New regulations. The most
radical technical changes for 2006 affect the engines: Formula One is
switching from three-litre V10 engines to V8 units with 2.4 litres'
displacement. The rules governing the new engines are far more tightly
regulated and the scope for engineers has shrunk. The switch to the
more compact V8 powerplants also brings with it noticeable modifications
to the chassis. Among other changes, the cars will feature pared-down
sidepods as the radiators can now be designed smaller than before.
Racing fans can again look forward to the spectacle of tyre changing in
the pits, which has the go-ahead again as of 2006. The qualifying
format is also new: for the 2006 World Championship, grid positions will
be determined in a shootout. From 14.00 to 15.00 hrs on Saturday, the
fast laps will be driven in three time sections, with the slowest
drivers in the first two 15-minute periods taking no further part in
qualifying, leaving the remaining drivers to compete for the best
starting positions in the final session.