BMW has pulled out of an agreement to sell its team to Qadbak and instead reached a deal with the Swiss outfit's founder Peter Sauber.
BMW pull out of Qadbak deal
BMW has pulled out of an agreement to sell its Formula One team to Qadbak Investments and instead reached a deal with the Swiss outfit's founder Peter Sauber.
An agreement was reached on Thursday, with the contract subject to the condition the team has a starting place on the grid for 2010 - an eventuality that now looks more likely given persistent doubts over the Qadbak arrangement.
Assuming the FIA grants Sauber the 13th and final grid slot, they will take the place of Toyota, which recently announced the withdrawal of its team from F1.
The Japanese manufacturer's announcement came four months after BMW's own decision to exit the sport having taken control of Sauber's team ahead of the 2006 season.
The 65-year-old failed with a takeover bid in early August and at the time was critical of the German manufacturing giant - Sauber claiming that negotiations broke down due to BMW's demands being "far too high".
Relieved
But now he has resumed control, as he enjoyed for 13 years prior to selling up four years ago, the FIA are in a position to formally accept Sauber back into the fold.
Sauber said: "I am very relieved that we have found this solution.
"It means we can keep the Hinwil (Switzerland) location and the majority of the workplaces.
"I am convinced the new team has a very good future in Formula One, whose current transformation with new framework conditions will benefit the private teams.
"Our staff here are highly competent and motivated, and I look forward to taking on this new challenge together with them.
"I would like to thank BMW for four shared years that have, in the main, been very successful."
Dr Klaus Draeger, a member of the Board of Management of BMW, is also relieved a deal has been concluded after a period of uncertainty.
"We are very happy with this solution," he said.
"This fulfils the most important requirement for a successful future for the team.
"Our relationship with Peter Sauber has always been excellent and marked by absolute respect.
"We would like to express our thanks to Peter and the whole team for the excellent cooperation during the recent four years."
Redundancy
Even so, the agreement will mean that Sauber's current workforce of 388 will have to be cut to around 250, with notices of redundancy having been issued on Friday.
And, as the team set about restructuring themselves, there remains the possibility that there are more lay-offs to come.
