BMW secures T-Mobile as new sponsor?

By BMWF1Talk
December 21 2007

Swiss newspaper Blick revealed that Deutsche Telekom, Germany's telecommunications company, is intending to enter in F1 as BMW-Sauber's sponsor, using its brand T-Mobile. The article also insinuates that the German brand will become the third biggest sponsor of the BMW-Sauber F1 Team, only behind Petronas (title sponsor of BMW Sauber) and Credit Suisse.

Interestingly, BMW Sauber already sported a telecommunications name in their livery until a few months ago. It was O2, a British company controlled by the Spanish Telefonica, that decided to pull out of the Team at the end of 2006.The decision of O2 leaving BMW Sauber was soon followed by Telefonica quitting Renault, after Fernando Alonso moved to Mclaren-Mercedes (team sponsored by Vodafone, Telefonica's main rival).

It is no surprise that a German barnd wants to sponsor the most german team on the grid, as BMW Sauber has its factories in Munich (in Bavaria, south of Germany) and Hinwill (in the german-speaking part of Switzerland), with a German Team Director (Mario Theissen), a German Technical Director (Willy Rampf), a German driver (Nick Heidfeld), and its other driver, Robert Kubica, is Polish, one of the most important markets for German companies.

All in all this looks as a very rational move, and we are just waiting for BMW to confirm it.

Rumours say that this new sponsorship of BMW Sauber will be announced at the F1.08 car launch in Munich, on January 14.

However, the issue of how the pink logo of T-Mobile will suit the BMW Sauber colours (white, blue and red) still remains as a big question mark...