Sweet Dreams Are Made of These

It can never be easy being a fan of a sporting team. Be it football, Formula 1 or rugby. There is always drama and tension surrounding that team. There is always a good question to be asked, why support a team in the first place? It is not an easy job by any means, even if you are passionate for them.

Take Harlequins F.C, a rugby union team, things seemed to be going sweetly for them. A good showing in the Guiness Premiership and an impressive outing in the Heineken Cup as well. Then, out of the blue it seems, “bloodgate” happened. The Summer was spent with the name on the back page, grabbing the headlines. The hot topic, replacing even Formula 1 as having big controversies. Fines, bans and warnings followed for Harlequins. But looking at it from the point of view of a fan of the team, it can only be of a nightmare. Worrying the team might be banned from a prestigious European cup competition. It would only have been a nightmare, a whole summer ruined out of worry.

Not without the worry, there is always that additional rollercoaster you don’t want to take. It is compulsory to suffer this as a fan and it has happened to anyone and everyone who supports a team. Newcastle United for example have had to suffer managerial changes, awful ownership, relegation and combated all three with protests. Honda F1 fans, saw the team pull out, saw months of speculation before Ross Brawn went on and saved the day. We all know what happened from there.

But there is a personal rollercoaster I have suffered lately and I start the tale of sadness, illness, mystery and joy at a relatively mild July day.

I’m lying in bed, ill, down with the flu. Already a bad start to the day, I’ve been out of the loop for about a week thanks to this. So when the news echoed out on Sky Sports News that BMW Sauber were pulling out, it came as a shock. I hadn’t heard of press conferences, or any rumours about this. Stuck in bed, braced with the news, I just about began to get the positive thoughts, there is still time for a buyer. Things might improve and BMW will reverse the decision. It didn’t seem to be too bad.

The disaster was soon overshadowed by the sudden reappearance of a Mr. Michael Schumacher. The news hogged his image, ignoring the plight of BMW Sauber. The ‘seven time world champion’ was returning to the sport. The sudden disappearance of him lowered the attention, a white sheet had been covered in front of BMW with Schumacher standing in front. The sheet had done its job, headlines returned to football. The laughing at Liverpool and cheering at the cricket.

Time meandered on, nothing happened. Words were spoken, Mario Theissen confident of a buyer, as was Peter Sauber. But nothing was going on, races were completed. Better results came in Valencia, Spa and Monza. Still nothing.

14th September 2009 was a bad day. Imagine if the initial entry on the rollercoaster was skimming the grass on the surface, this managed to make the rollercoaster go underground. The Malaysian backed Lotus team were confirmed as the new 13th team, replacing the outgoing BMW Sauber team as they became the 14th team. This was awful, needing the requirement of the misfortune of others just to get a slot. The team hadn’t even been bought out yet. It was dark times, optimism at an all time low.

Five minutes later, BMW were bought out by the QADBAK group. Nobody knew who they are, the only connection people could figure was with the football team of Notts County. Mystery. Question marks now surrounded the team, even the thought of anger heading towards BMW for seemingly selling the team for the first company that brought them money. From that day it never looked like the team would make the grid. It was bleak.

The end of the season came and went, Jenson Button crowned World Champion. Brawn became heroes in Brazil where Robert Kubica would score BMW’s last podium in Formula 1. The team quietly exited the sport during the dull Abu Dhabi race. Nick Heidfeld finished in 5th, marking the end of the four year BMW Sauber team. It was a sad moment. Looking increasingly likely that there would be nobody to support the following season.

BMW Sauber scored 308 points in just 70 races, including 1 pole position and of course, 1 win at the never forgotten 2008 Canadian Grand Prix. The team had only ever used four drivers, Nick Heidfeld and Jaques Villeneuve starting in 2006. Villeneuve was out by Hungary to be replaced by the first ever Pole in the sport, Robert Kubica. Kubica was replaced by Sebastian Vettel for one race at the 2007 US Grand Prix, a week after Kubica’s horrific accident in Canada.

It made me reflect on all the good times as a fan of BMW Sauber. The pole position lap at Bahrain in 2008, where everyone expected Felipe Massa to walk it. Out of a blue a little white car stormed across the line with a big red ‘1’ next to the time.

And there is that special grand prix that I will always remember, the 2008 Canadian Grand Prix. Forget the stupid pitlane antics by Lewis Hamilton, it was awesome to see Robert Kubica and Nick Heidfeld come home in a one-two finish to win the race. It was a fantastic feeling. Brilliant. Unforgettable.

Times like that never seemed to not ever happen again. But suddenly, the rollercoaster decided to come back from the underground. Days after the Abu Dhabi GP, Toyota pulled out. 12 teams remained. It seemed almost certain QADBAK-Sauber would be in the sport the following season.

But, things are never that simple. Toyota had signed the Concorde Agreement, BMW didn’t. It was looking a costly mistake as it looked possible that Toyota would sell their entry off to someone, that someone looking like Zoran Stefanovic and his Serbian based Stefan GP outfit. The ride had suddenly become a little bumpy.

Peter Sauber emerged in the frame, with the QADBAK deal looking less and less likely to go through. He bought the remaining 80% from BMW subject to if the team got on the grid.

A week later, that happened. A mix of thrill and joy and happiness is going on right now as I write this post. It is great to have my team, the team that got me in all of this back in F1. Sauber. Ran by Peter Sauber, the legend that he is. Ferrari powered engines, I can not wait for 2010 now!

I’m being asked who will drive for the team, I do think it will be Christian Klien and Vitaly Petrov, with Nick Heidfeld making the move to Mercedes. Though saying that, I have been wrong about many things in the past. Brawn GP just one of them.

And that concludes the rollercoaster of being a BMW Sauber fan, or at least, a fan. It is never easy, not always fun. But there is a passion that keeps you supporting them from Day 1 to the end. I could have easily given up when the team were struggling for points at the British Grand Prix, but why would I want to do that? There is nothing for me if I did that. I’d lose a team. I nearly lost them, but look, Sauber came out of the woodwork. And it is the best news ever.

Putting Me Through Nightmares

It has only taken seven races, but finally, Robert Kubica has scored his first points of the 2009 season. This is after three retirements, albeit he was still classified in Australia and three non point finishes. Qualifying was a similar story, only getting into Q3 twice, a promising fourth in Australia and tenth in Spain. And whilst Nick Heidfeld has scored a podium, the half points awarded mean he lies on just six points. BMW are eighth in the standings, only ahead of Toro Rosso and Force India.

Every F1 fan expected more from BMW Sauber this year. Slowing down development on the 2008 car to focus on the 2009 and be even better for this year, just after the teams first win in Canada. Who knows what would have happened if the team had continued on with the 2008 car,  Kubica could have been a factor for the World Championship in Brazil.

The team are believed to be the second one to start designs and focus on the new regs for 2009, after Honda/Brawn GP. But the year has been miserable, this time last year, the team were challenging McLaren and Ferrari, a win under the belt and Kubica at the top of the Drivers Championship.

Fast forward 12 months, only eight points, just one podium and both drivers in the bottom half of the standings. The team with more retirements as well, including the first non-accident at Monaco since China 2007 with brake failure.

Australia brought false optimism, Robert Kubica powered his way to fourth on the grid, helped by both Toyota’s times being wiped out. The team were competitive in the race, battling with Sebastian Vettel for second, on the optimum tyre compared to Vettel. A slim chance to catch Jenson Button. And then they crashed, the sight of the BMW slam into the wall and the tyre bouncing down the track made me realise, this was not going to be easy.

Malaysia was even more false optimism, the torrential monsoon weather and good strategy calls meant that Nick Heidfeld scored a second place. Unfortunately, the clever planning of Bernie meant only half points were awarded. Heidfeld had got off the mark, but only with four points.

China started the misery, Kubica failing to get out of Q1, qualifying 17th. The race was also painful to watch, the Pole involved in a massive crash with Trulli, but still managed to survive. But even in the rain, there was no pace, Heidfeld coming home 12th, Kubica 13th.

Bahrain was a similar story, a start line tangle meant the aerodynamics were all off, but it still ended up with both drivers finishing last of the finishers. Possibly the worst performance since BMW took the team over.

Spain finally saw some pace, Heidfeld scoring a seventh place. But Monaco saw neither driver get out of Q1. Even being beaten by Lewis Hamilton, who had crashed out half way through that session. The race seemed pointless, sending the drivers on a heavy fuel load they failed to make any impressions and generally looked painfully slow.

Then, the introduction of the infamous Double Decker Diffuser in Turkey. Then we saw some pace from the BMW cars. Easing through Q1, Kubica getting into Q2 and with the heaviest fuel load, qualified 10th. A mixed start, Heidfeld getting ahead of Kubica at the start before falling back. But Robert Kubica managed to get ahead of Raikkonen and Alonso before the first pitstop. Then ahead of Timo Glock to finish seventh, after months of whining about an awful car, Kubica finally has two points.

But why has it taken until June, Round 7, for the BMW to finally looking lively? The first reason is the failure to recognise the possibility of the Double Decker Diffuser. If the team had that from the start, they could have possibly shown similar pace to that of Toyota or Red Bull and at least be competitive.

Also, spending too much time on the development of KERS, which was an ultimately flawed product created by the team. The team used it for two races, it failed to help the team in anyway, and was as quickly scrapped as soon as it began.

The team however can look forward to a hopeful few months, with more points gradually appearing on the board and the odd podium will surely make the team owners happy especially after the diabolical start to the season.

In my eyes, I still want a win, but I’m beginning to recognise that it will require a downpour at some race. But I still will be happy if the team show 100% in the remaining ten races of the season, get more points and at least have a single digit on at least one of their cars next year.

That is if they are still in it of course.