01/08/2009
NEWS STORY
Peter Sauber has admitted that he is looking for a solution which might save the BMW F1 team, despite that German manufacturer's announcement on Wednesday that it is withdrawing.
Sauber, who retains a 20 percent stake in the team, and who, ironically, sold his outfit to BMW in 2005 in order to guarantee its future, has said he will do "everything humanly possible" to prevent the team going down and the loss of over 500 jobs.
I cannot do miracles and I certainly don't want to be team boss again," he is quoted as saying by Bild. "However, the problem is that time is running out and we need to find a solution very quickly."
Indeed, with the new Concorde Agreement having been signed, it is understood that the BMW team has been given until next Wednesday to find a solution and sign up.
Sauber is understood to be seeking a deal similar to the management buy-out which saw Ross Brawn take control of Honda following the Japanese manufacturer's decision to leave the sport last December.
"The best solution would be a deal similar to the Brawn solution at Honda," said the Swiss. "You need at least ten years to amass a team which can produce a car to the level required and if we allow this team to fall apart the chances are that Switzerland will never have such an opportunity again.
"I will use all my contacts, but I can't guarantee anything," he added. "I am an advisor to BMW but ultimately only they can decide how to drive this forward."
Despite the apparent enormity of the task, especially in the current global economic climate, Sauber remains confident, saying: "In my seventeen years in F1 I have solved bigger problems."