BMW have made a public statement to say they won’t be racing in Formula 1 beyond 2009.  I have to say I’m quite surprised given that they appeared more committed than Renault and Toyota.

The FIA have reacted by saying pretty much “I told you so” regarding budget caps and racing budgets being unsustainable.

FOTA are saying teams may run third cars in the future if more entries disappear which is unlikely as budgets are coming down and entries are available, then some of the rejected new teams like Epsilon Euskadi might reappear… on the provision they get a cosworth engine?

Was it Max Mosley’s spanking scandal, or Bernie Ecclestone’s recent comments about Adolf Hitler? Some might say this is driven by economics given the fact that very little points in 2009 will not justify the costs of the 2009 season, but others might, correctly i would add, argue that the withdrawal is driven by the embarrassing BMW form in 2009, especially after their recent upgrades for Hungary did nothing for them.

Nick Hedifeld can probably kiss goodbye to his career in F1, as can Nico Rosberg can forget any ambitions to move to BMW.  Robert Kubica could be in the frame for Ferrari given Massa’s accident and unavailability.  Kubica speaks Italian and knows the Italian culture well having built his karting career in Italy.

Hopefully Peter Sauber can do a Brawn and take over the team for one Euro with a budget for 2010 to get them going. The sport would retain an important team and Sauber would be able to operate on £40 million a year going forward. Such a move is much less risky now than it were for Brawn over the winter, with far more certainty of what F1 will cost.  BMW owes Sauber such an offer given that Peter Sauber chose BMW in the belief it could safeguard the jobs for his Hinwil plant.

Are Renault next?  Word on the track is Renault want out and Flavio may also have to do a Brawn.