• BMW Sauber

American investors to save Sauber?

ESPNF1 Staff
November 26, 2009 « Conway and Ericsson to test for Mercedes GP | »
The future of the team is still up in the air © Sutton Images
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The BMW Sauber takeover deal by investment company Qadbak appears to have fallen through, and reports suggest a new takeover is being planned by an American firm.

The team was put up for sale when previous owner BMW announced it would be leaving the sport at the end of the 2009 season. Qadbak had been named as a buyer but details of the deal remained guarded.

BMW did not sign up to the new Concorde Agreement, the contract which legally binds the sport and teams together until 2012, knowing they would pull out of the sport and breach it. As a result the team was not included on the list of official entrants for the 2010 season, and the spare grid spot awarded to Lotus.

The FIA's reluctance to name Sauber as the 13th team on the grid, after Toyota's withdrawal from F1 in early November, has led to speculation that Qadbak does not have the necessary finances to complete the deal. Now, German magazine Auto Motor und Sport is reporting that the team will still make the grid, but with backing from an unnamed American investment firm instead.

The story added that the investors are known by F1's CEO Bernie Ecclestone and would be welcomed into the paddock.

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