By Jamie Makin
April 4 2005

It looks like we will have to wait a bit longer for a final decision on SAUBER's engines for 2006. Speaking to America's Speed TV, BMW's Mario Theissen has at least confirmed that supplying SAUBER is a realistic possibility. "One of the teams we are talking to is SAUBER and today I would say the probability of supplying a second team next year is higher than 50 percent," Theissen admitted. "No decision has been made so far. The decision should be made by the end of June. Basically in the course of the year we are asked by everybody, and we've certainly spoken to Red Bull as well."

Recently though, Red Bull has been talking to Honda about engines with SAUBER looking more likely to partner with BMW. But money will not be the deciding factor in who BMW goes with.

"If you take this seriously you won't earn money by supplying a second team," claimed Theissen. "It is at least as costly as you are paid for it if you take it. It is about how the operations will fit each other, how the way of thinking of operating the team and running the engine fits. And if you are confident to have the right partner."

"An F1 engine is a very complex thing. You can easily make it blow up with wrong boundary conditions. It's not just about the stability of the engine itself, but very much about the integration into the car and the operation during the weekend, so you really have to be confident to have a partner who can do the job."

With recent upgrades to their Hinwil base, SAUBER could be the ideal partner that BMW is looking for. But Red Bull should not be underestimated in this area. Owner Dietrich Mateschitz is serious about making his new team competitive and he has the funding to do so. Conversely, the SAUBER team has struggled with funding for development work since losing Red Bull as a primary sponsor.

Regardless of who BMW decides to supply, they will benefit from up-to-date, same-spec engines as the Williams team. This would be an upgrade for SAUBER who are usually one engine stage behind Ferrari. "I would favor to do the same spec," Theissen explained. "I wouldn't favor doing two different engine programs at the same time. Basically all I can say is that we wouldn't do two different engines."

One potential stumbling block to the deal for SAUBER is that BMW does not appear to support having their engine rebranded by the team's sponsor. This would relegate Petronas to a "regular sponsor" or perhaps even give them reason to pull out from the team altogether.

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