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Has BMW lost its soul?

Posted by Hootan Mahallati | July 29, 2009 | In bmw formula 1 founder's thoughts

Try as might, I could not help but vent here today. You see, early this morning, I posted the news on BMW pulling out of Formula 1 at the end of the season, and that should have been that. However, I have long been a fan of their Formula 1 effort and I am still sitting here fuming about the decision taken by the BMW board. In fact, I will admit once again that in general, I have liked BMW cars ever since I was a kid and as a businessman, admire the company’s solid branding and marketing. In addition, just as I defended supercars in this post several months ago, I truly believe in racing as a motivator of the troops. BMW Motorsport, Toyota F1 and Scuderia Ferrari were all clients of mine in my past tenure at Ricardo and I can tell you first-hand that the energy among the engineers working obscenely late nights in order to help their teams win was contagious and inspiring. In fact, one of my sweetest memories from those days is receiving a rare and prized BMW F1 calendar upon my departure from Germany from one of those hard-working, brilliant BMW engineers, affectionately called “Siggi” around the office.

BMW CEO Norbert Reithofer said that BMW is mainly withdrawing in order to focus on sustainable engineering and yet, strangely, will continue to support the junior series conceived as a feeder for Formula 1. This makes no sense and shows corporate cowardice: BMW was the leading supporter of the kinetic energy regenerative braking system, better known as KERS, being adopted in Formula 1 this season. This great technology is precisely the type of sustainable engineering know-how BMW is now evangelizing and which can be perfected through racing. Refining technology through racing is one reason to go racing in the first place.

KERS, which comprises a rotating plate that spins under heavy braking which in turn charges the batteries running an electric motor, offers drivers short bursts of up to 80 hp as they race. The technology is perfectly adaptable for road car use and will be prevalent across the industry very soon. After some early teething problems, the Ferrari and McLaren teams have used the system to great effect, passing rivals in drag races at strategic points during races. BMW, in contrast, gave up on KERS after its own version of the system underperformed.

Certainly, BMW’s horrendous drop in overall form (they are the lowest-ranked manufacturer team in this year’s constructor’s points race) contributed to the decision, but that would be an even poorer reason to stop competing in the highest form of formula racing. The whole ethos of competition is trying to win no matter how many times you may lose. BMW’s Formula 1 performances improved consistently over the past few years until they, like other leading teams such as McLaren and Ferrari, stumbled amidst the new regulations for the 2009 season. So suck it up BMW, and try to improve for next year. You already squandered your chance at the driver’s title last year by diverting your attention to the 2009 car and by not supporting your gifted driver Robert Kubica in his realistic title chase. What message does this send to your fans, customers and more importantly, rivals? You have just handed Mercedes-Benz, who struggled badly earlier this season but came back to win last weekend, an unimpeded opportunity to raise the German flag up high in this most prestigious of racing series. Your racing legacy will now read something like this: “they came in, did really well as an engine supplier, fell out with their partner team, bought a team, did well, then after one poor season, gave up and went home.”

The reason I am so saddened by this decision is that BMW is now the second company that ironically belongs in Formula 1 more than most and yet has decided to leave. The other, of course, is Honda, which was so dominant in those magical years at the end of the 1980’s. I know for a fact that BMW’s race engineers admired and were inspired by Honda’s history of success, even studying old F1 engine white papers authored by Honda. The Japanese marque famously pulled the plug on its team effort right before the start of the 2009 season, only to see its racing chassis, rechristened as the Mercedes-powered Brawn GP, win six of the first seven races of the season.

BMW and Honda have long been respected the world over for their superior grasp of engine technology and for building exciting cars that are often purer in purpose than most of their rivals’ products. Sadly, Honda has steadily killed off exciting sports car projects over the past few years, and BMW is now focusing on putting hot engines in unneeded cross-over vehicles. Yes, I am talking about the capable but pointless BMW X6 M. Listing a born-again focus on green technologies as your reason for exiting Formula 1 racing while recently having launched a thirsty behemoth like the X6 M rings a tad hypocritical if you ask me. BMW gave up, and I bet several heartless, passionless consultants were involved in the financial analysis that led to their cutely-named “Strategy Number ONE’ that killed off BMW’s F1 team. I hope I am wrong because if not, it would mean that BMW, like Honda, may have lost some of the soul that made it a great car company.

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