BMW has cited difficulties around technology transfer as the reason it has no interest in joining the Formula 1 grid.
The Munich-based manufacturer sold its majority stake in Sauber back in 2009 and has not returned to the sport since, despite the presence of some of its biggest rivals, including premium German carmakers Audi and Mercedes, in the series.
F1’s huge popularity growth over the last few years has seen a number of big automotive names join the ranks, including Cadillac and Ford. Indeed, the Sauber team that BMW previously had its name tied to has now been taken over by Audi.
Even Stuttgart-based Porsche was in talks with Red Bull Racing back in 2022 as a potential powertrain provider. However, these plans fell through.
BMW: F1 is “too far removed” from road cars
Speaking to Motor1 Germany, BMW M (the brand’s high-performance division) boss Frank van Meel explained that F1 isn’t a match for its philosophy, which seeks to transfer technology from race cars to road cars.
“Formula 1 is too far removed for us; it’s too much of a laboratory and doesn’t translate well enough to production cars,” he said.
“Our customers and fans certainly like Formula 1, but they also like motorsport that’s more direct and closer to production cars. The story behind M is that we bring motorsport into production cars. And Formula 1 simply doesn’t fit into that for us.”
According to Van Meel, other motorsports series that the brand competes in are more suited to its targets than F1. BMW currently supplies its M Hybrid V8 in both the World Endurance Championship (WEC) and IMSA SportsCar Championship for Team WRT, competing in the likes of the 24 Hours of Le Mans.
Track-focused GT3 and GT4 versions of the BMW M4 are also sold to customer teams around the world.
US market “extremely important” for BMW
Van Meel explained that the brand’s involvement in IMSA is crucial to its popularity in the US market, and described how it also provides a more accurate environment for the development of production products.
“For us, it’s not just about the WEC, but also about IMSA,” he said. “The USA, with around 40% of our volume, is the most important single market for BMW M. BMW grew big in the USA through motorsport. That’s why IMSA is extremely important for us.
“WEC and IMSA are also a good fit for us because of the direct technology transfer. For example, the M Concept New Class incorporates elements from the M4 GT3, such as the airflow-optimized hood and diffuser. The lighting graphics come from our LMDh race car.
“There are also transfers of technology to the powertrains. We use a V8 hybrid in motorsport and have V8 hybrids in the M5 and XM. In some cases, the same engineers work on these powertrains. We can test certain aspects more quickly and in a more production-ready way through these racing series.”
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