BMW in Formula One

BMW has been in Formula One since the beginning of the World Drivers' Championship in 1950. BMW entered several races in the 1950s and 1960s. Often, they ran using the Formula Two rules. In the 1980s, they built the BMW M12/13 inline-four turbocharged engine. This engine was built for the Brabham team. Nelson Piquet won the 1983 championship driving a Brabham-BMW. BMW also supplied the M12/13 engine to the ATS, Arrows, Benetton and Ligier teams. In 1988, Brabham left F1 for the 1988 season, and BMW stopped its official backing of the engines. Arrows still used the engine with the Megatron name. When Formula One banned turbocharged engines in 1989, the M12/13 could no longer be used.

BMW returned to Formula One in 2000. They made a deal to supply engines to only the Williams team. The engine was a new V10 engine. The engine deal with Williams ended after the 2005 season. BMW then bought the rival Sauber team. The BMW Sauber project lasted from 2006 until 2009. Sauber, a former privateer team, became more competitive. In 2008, Robert Kubica won the team's only race, the Canadian Grand Prix, with Nick Heidfeld finishing second. After the 2009 season, BMW withdrew from F1. They sold the team back to its founder, Peter Sauber.