First Sauber takeover talks fail – reports
Earlier reports in the German language media said that Sauber, who founded the team in 1993, and current boss Mario Theissen, held talks with BMW executives about performing a Brawn/Honda-style management takeover.
The 65-year-old Swiss is quoted as saying by the Blick newspaper that the demands of the Munich manufacturer BMW, who bought Sauber in late 2005 and will pull out of formula one at the end of this season, were "simply too high".
Sauber said efforts to build on the initial interest of potential investors will now continue, and "obviously I'm still here to help".
08/06/09 Mario Theissen: "Since the announcement on 29 July of our strategic realignment, we have done everything in our power to reach a rapid agreement on the sale of the team based at Hinwil. Regrettably, despite every effort, this has proved unsuccessful. The tight timeframe we faced simply did not allow us and the interested parties and investors enough time to find a solution for such a complex transaction. This means the team cannot sign the Concorde Agreement at present. The aim now is, over the coming weeks, to find a solution together with potential interested parties and Peter Sauber. Beyond that, we will see the 2009 season through to its conclusion with our unstinting sporting commitment."
08/06/09 (GMM) Initial attempts to rescue the Sauber team in the wake of BMW's impending withdrawal have failed, according to reports in the German language press.
It is said that team founder and 20 per cent shareholder Peter Sauber, and team boss Mario Theissen, held talks with BMW executives about performing a Brawn/Honda-style management takeover.
However, August 5 was set as the deadline to complete the deal and still have the Hinwil based team included in the current form of the new Concorde Agreement.
"Despite all efforts the timeframe was not sufficient to find a solution to such a complex transaction," Theissen is quoted as saying by Spiegel Online.
The team is therefore not included in the 2009-2012 Concorde, but FOTA said on Wednesday that it will "support any initiative which would allow BMW-Sauber AG to reapply for full participation".
Sauber, 65, revealed that potential investors have nonetheless been identified and efforts will continue to save the Swiss based outfit he founded in 1993.
Ousted Renault driver Nelson Piquet's famous father was linked with the team, but the Brazilian is said to have now played down those reports in the Swiss media.
In the Austrian newspaper Salzburger Nachrichten, meanwhile, Red Bull mogul Dietrich Mateschitz said rumors he was interested in linking up with BMW-Sauber for the benefit of his Toro Rosso team are not true.