Petronas to ditch Sauber

UPDATE #2 This rumor is upgraded to 'fact' today with the announcement that Petronas will sponsor the Mercedes GP cars of Nico Rosberg and soon to be announced Michael Schumacher.

12/18/09 (GMM) The boss of the state-owned Malaysian oil company Petronas has played down reports it is set to remain a sponsor of a formula one team in 2010.

The Kuala Lumpur based company has been a long-time backer of the Sauber team, but the deal is believed to have ended when former owners BMW withdrew.

However, reports in recent days indicated that with the sale of the Hinwil based team back to its founder Peter Sauber, Petronas was set to re-commit.

But Malaysia's Star newspaper quotes president Tan Sri Mohd Hassan Marican as confirming only that Petronas will continue to be the title sponsor for the grand prix at Sepang.

"Next year, we have no team and the only reason for us to go back into formula one is on a business deal, for the lubricant business," he said.

12/15/09 (GMM) In the wake of BMW's withdrawal, Sauber is reportedly set to retain Petronas as a major sponsor.

With the oil company owned by the Malaysian government, it had been rumored that Petronas might end its long-term alliance with Sauber in order to back the new Malaysian team Lotus.

But after Monday's official media event to reveal Lotus' 2010 driver lineup, Finland's Turun Sanomat reported that Petronas is staying at Sauber.

However, the newspaper added that the late confirmation of Sauber's official entry means that the team might not be ready to run its new car at the first major test at Valencia in February.