Nelson Piquet, Bernie Ecclestone, and BMW: Inside the Drama of the 1982 F1 Season
In 2009 BMW quit F1, its title ambitions in tatters. The same thing could have happened in the 1980s, but for an inspired Nelson Piquet and the stunning Brabham BT52
Taken from Motor Sport, November 2009
If you ask me, the blokes on the board at BMW lost their nerve. “We communicated our 2009 target four years ago,” said Mario Theissen in Valencia at the roll-out of this year’s car, barely seven months ago. “We set out a plan aiming at the first points in 2006, the first podium in 2007, to win in 2008, and we then stated that we want to fight for the championship from this year onwards. So far all targets have been met, so there is no reason to abandon the final and most important target. We want to fight for the title with the two big teams and whoever else is up there.”
From left: BMW Motorsport boss Paul Rosche, Bernie Ecclestone and Gordon Murray in the Hockenheim pits