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It's not looking good on the sponsorship front and now I read FxPro has moved over to Virgin F1.

The Koba signing is much clearer now.

"When you talk, you are repeating what you already know. But if you listen, you may learn something new." - Dalai Lama

Bad, bad news
Petronas money has been a fundament of Sauber team finances for so many years. It will be almost impossible to replace them with one single shot.

No 2009 TV money share
No Petronas

Hard times in front.

I would not be surprised if second driver choice will also be connected with sponsorship genareted. PdR might be an ideal candidate if he indeed brings money with him

Quote:

Mercedes GP is delighted to announce the signing of a long-term agreement with PETRONAS which will see the Malaysian national oil and gas company become the title partner to the new Silver Arrows works team.
From 2010, the new team will compete in the FIA Formula One World Championship as the Mercedes GP PETRONAS Formula One Team and will carry the distinctive PETRONAS branding across the car and team liveries.

[www.f1network.net]





Edited 3 time(s). Last edit at 2009:12:21:09:39:32 by Misiu.

The Mercedes/Petronas deal was sorted months and months ago, while the team were still racing as Brawn GP. Makes the quote above seem a bit... odd.

Cima Racing | Twitter

So Kubica again with Petronas on his overalls?



Alonso-Santander anyone?

2008 Prediction Champion

Great! [/ironic and angry mode off]

Racing against the machine!

I think it looks ugly.



"When you talk, you are repeating what you already know. But if you listen, you may learn something new." - Dalai Lama

Funny how Mercedes continues to out-do BMW.

Bimmers push for KERS - > Mercedes beats them there
BMW decides to quit - > Mercedes multiplies its involvement in F1

Petronas from BMW to Mercedes

Now Mercedes will either take Schumi on board, what will be the deal of the century, or if that not possible, they will take former BMW driver (Nick or Robert)

So this is BMW's legacy in F1.

Leave both teams that your partnered in worse shape than they were to start with.

Peter was understandably furious, as shown by his public comments after BMW failed to signe the CA, because he probably knew then that it had sealed their fate with regards to Petronas.

What makes it so galling is that it was totally unnecessary. The team should've been given back to Peter from the get go. Companies have to approve their marketing budgets well in advance of the coming year, and the priority should've been showing that the team would have a stable future, rather than courting shady figures that would scare sponsors away. BMW tried to shift blame on Bernie and the FIA for the delay on approvaing Qadbak's entry, but it turns out Bernie was right, as Qadbak's purchase of Notts County has also fallen through because the funds didn't materialize.

I'll wait for Phil words, but actually the move was in place BEFORE BMW retired, I think already back in June.

Racing against the machine!

Well, I can't wait to watch the historic and evocative silver and turquoise arrows next year Sauber needed that money far more. Plain black Sauber livery next year then?

Quote:

Raid Phoenix
I'll wait for Phil words, but actually the move was in place BEFORE BMW retired, I think already back in June.

That was my understanding. With Brawn GP leading the championship by some margin, and offering a package including title sponsorship (something BMW couldn't offer) for a figure not too far off their 2009 investment, it's not difficult to see why they may switch.

I wouldn't have liked to have been in the Mobil office, though!

Cima Racing | Twitter

Quote:

crusty_bread
Well, I can't wait to watch the historic and evocative silver and turquoise arrows next year Sauber needed that money far more. Plain black Sauber livery next year then?

Actually, in defense to Brawn, at the time the deal was worked Brawn needed the money much more than Sauber. At that time BMW Sauber was firmly committed to the future, while Brawn didn't have any contact with Merc and were some sort of privateer, which would run out of the Honda money in 2010. I don't blame Brawn. In any case blame should be on Petronas, but it's understandable that they moved to the Championship leaders/winners.

Sauber will have sponsors next year, Peter is very intelligent and connected, I'm sure he'll find something. And wouldn't get surprised if we revert back to the classic multi-color livery

Racing against the machine!

Considering the amount of misinformation regarding Mercedes/Brawn/Schumacher that has been published recently, forgive if me if I'm not convinced.

Petronas was with Sauber for 15 years, and there's no question during that period they saw many offers coming from more competitive, visible teams, yet they opted to renew with Sauber time and time again.

The BRawn offer may have been on the table prior to BMW's withdrawal, but it seems quite likely that it was the withdrawal announcement and subsequent failure to sign the CA that clinched the Petronas/Brawn deal.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2009:12:21:15:32:56 by KineticKid.

KK that makes good sense. Knowing absolutely nothing other than what you read that is usually only half the story I also think that maybe Qadbak being a supposedly a middle east money source could have contributed to Petronas's decision.
An affiliation with BMW, Mercedes or a long term 100% hands on owner like Peter works for them, to not go with a non entered, unknown, not proven Qadbek is understandable.

sessions

Petronas is a big los for our team. I felt better when they where leaving f1, but to hear that they have signed with a rival team s***** big time.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2009:12:22:10:25:30 by barteks.

Nobody seems to mention about Petronas Sponsoring the Malaysian team, as I believe tony and co, were hoping to snatch up that deal, an all Malaysian (dream) team. I think they too together with Peter S. will be struggling to get a competitive budget now as they thought they (deserved) would get the Petronas backing.

As far as Petronas goes, their main interest is to sign a deal with a manufacturer for further business, first fill of oil with premium brand such as BMW previously and now Mercedes, I believe they would never have signed with Brawn if Mercedes was not involved.

With regards to BMW Motorsport i fully agree with Kinetickid, They are just a bunch of Bavarian farmers, an organization full of friends and family politics, these guys there know nothing They have never cared about relations either with Peter, or Petronas...... and when @#$%& hits the fan because of their idiocy they start blaming everybody else except themselves. Good luck guys with your 2 touring cars, and a few Formula BMW's that you have left running.

EDITED by Mod: please use more respectful language. Thanks



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2009:12:22:10:06:55 by BMWF1Talk.

What are the chances Panasonic (and perhaps some other ex-Toyota sponsors) switch to Sauber for 2010 now that Kobayashi has landed the drive?