BMW Sauber F1 Team

2006
For the 2006 season BMW Sauber signed Nick Heidfeld from Williams to be their lead driver, while 1997 World Champion Jacques Villeneuve had his existing Sauber contract confirmed. Pole Robert Kubica was signed as the team's third driver. The team continued to use Sauber's facilities, mostly for chassis construction and wind tunnel testing, while BMW's headquarters in Munich were responsible for building the new P86 V8 engine.
Former Sauber title sponsor Petronas renewed their contract with the new team, as a simple team sponsor, as did Credit Suisse. For the new season BMW Sauber announced a technical partnership with Intel, claiming that it will eventually lead to technological improvements available on BMW road cars.
The new livery, unveiled in Valencia on 17 January 2006, was the traditional BMW blue and white with a hint of red.
Jacques Villeneuve scored the team's first points with a seventh place finish at the 2006 Malaysian Grand Prix, after Heidfeld retired from fifth with an engine failure late in the race. Over the first two thirds of the season the drivers picked up points with a succession of seventh and eighth place finishes.
The team ran a radical "twin towers" aero enhancement on the front of the car for the race in Magny-Cours, France, which was meant to direct airflow to the rear and thus improve performance. This unconventional add-on was promptly banned by the FIA as it was adjudged to impede the drivers' vision and thus compromise safety.
Heidfeld scored the team's first podium at the 2006 Hungarian Grand Prix from 10th on the grid. Kubica stood in for Villeneuve, BMW stating that Villenueve couldn't drive due to medical complications following his accident at the German Grand Prix. Kubica finished seventh, although he was later disqualified for an underweight car. After the Hungarian Grand Prix, BMW announced that Kubica would complete the season for the Swiss team, spelling the end of former world champion Villeneuve's F1 career.
Kubica scored BMW Sauber's second podium of the season at the Italian Grand Prix, after running in third place for most of the race and leading briefly during the first round of pit stops. Heidfeld was classified in 8th position with one point; this poor result due to a poor first lap and drive-through penalty after qualifying third. The team's fifth place in the constructor's championship was cemented by Heidfeld's two further points at the 2006 Chinese Grand Prix, and Toyota's early double retirement from the 2006 Brazilian Grand Prix.

2007
On 19 October 2006, it was announced that Robert Kubica would partner Nick Heidfeld for the 2007 with Sebastian Vettel taking the test and reserve driver role. On 21 December, it was announced that Timo Glock had been signed as the team's second test driver. The team launched their 2007 car, the F1.07, on January 16, 2007.
The new car showed promising form in winter testing, topping the times sheets on occasions. However, team principal Mario Theissen declared some reliability concerns before the season's opening race in Melbourne. Robert Kubica duly retired from 5th place mid-race with gearbox trouble, but Nick Heidfeld proved their pace in winter testing was no fluke as he raced to 4th place. Heidfeld has continued this succsess with two more 4th places in Malaysia and Bahrain respectively. Kubica finished 6th in Bahrain after retiring in Australia and mechanical trouble in Malaysia.