BMW-SAUBER F1.08

   In 2008, the German team BMW-Sauber faced the difficult task of matching the excellent results achieved in 2007, challenging two giants in the history of Formula 1 such as Ferrari and McLaren. Under the leadership of Mario Theissen, Team Principal as well as Director of BMW Motorsport, a group of highly skilled engineers worked to design and develop a very competitive single-seater: the BMW-Sauber F1.08. The Technical Director was the German Willy Rampf, the true architect of the car, capable of bringing a methodical and scientific approach to its design. Alongside him worked his fellow countryman Walter Riedl as Engineering Director, while the Swiss Christoph Zimmermann, in the role of Chief Designer, was the man able to physically transform Rampf’s concepts into a racing car, assisted in his task by Deputy Chief Designer Thomas Knodel. The Frenchman Loïc Serra served as Chief Vehicle Dynamicist, while the aerodynamic department was managed by the veteran Willem Toet (Head of Aerodynamics), at the time a genius of the field capable of fully exploiting the potential of the Hinwil wind tunnel, the most advanced of those years. Working alongside him was the British engineer born in Singapore, Seamus Mullarkey, formerly of Jordan and with nearly a decade of experience within the Swiss team.

BMW-SAUBER F1.08, Robert Kubica
Montecarlo, Monaco GP 2008

   Beyond being aesthetically pleasing and technically refined, the BMW-Sauber F1.08 represented the pinnacle of BMW’s Formula 1 project. In 2008, in fact, the German team shed its outsider status to become a genuine title contender. Before the 2009 regulations imposed wider wings and cleaner bodywork, BMW engineers pushed the concept of airflow management to an almost obsessive level of micro-detail. At the front, the goal was not merely to generate downforce, but to prepare the airflow so that it could travel along the car’s body without significant turbulence. Above the particularly complex main front wing sat the now indispensable profile running over the nose, designed to generate extra aerodynamic load and channel air toward the lower part of the chassis. On top of the nose were the so-called Twin Towers, two fins specifically designed to direct air toward the radiator inlets and the car’s floor. Countless bargeboards were positioned ahead of the sidepod intakes. In the airbox area, above the driver’s head, two curved fins (Viking Horns) generated small vortices that flowed toward the rear wing, increasing its efficiency even when the car was cornering and therefore struck by airflow that was not perfectly head-on. All these refinements made the car extremely predictable for the drivers, eliminating sudden rear downforce losses. As for heat management and dissipation on the Swiss single-seater, there were louvres and tall vertical chimneys on the sidepods. During the season, BMW was among the first teams to further develop the engine cover fin, which acted like a sail to stabilize the car in corners by reducing yaw, while also helping to clean the airflow directed toward the lower profile of the rear wing.

BMW SAUBER F1.08, Nick Heidfeld
Melbourne, Australian GP 2008

   Beneath the skin of the F1.08 beat a “Teutonic” mechanical heart that many considered the benchmark of its era. The V8 P86/8 engine, designed by Markus Duesmann (Engine Director) and Angelo Camerini (Chief Designer, Engine), was the true pride of the Munich-based team, capable of producing an extremely reliable and powerful unit (around 800 hp while weighing only 95 kg). Despite the 2008 “electronic” revolution, with the introduction of the standard ECU and the abolition of traction control and assisted engine braking, German engineers worked extensively on mechanical traction. The F1.08 was able to put its power down effectively when exiting slow corners without excessive wheelspin, a sign of superb suspension design. At the front, the zero-keel push-rod configuration, with suspension arms attached directly to the sides of the monocoque, allowed for a completely clear lower nose area to facilitate airflow toward the flat floor. At the rear, the layout was also push-rod, with Sachs dampers and torsion bars integrated into the chassis. A key technical feature of the F1.08 was its extremely lightweight chassis, enabling engineers to position several kilograms of tungsten ballast as low as possible in the floor of the monocoque. Furthermore, the BMW P86/8 engine was so efficient that the F1.08 was the car that required the least fuel during qualifying, thanks to optimized specific fuel consumption compared to its competitors.

BMW SAUBER F1.08, Robert Kubica
Montecarlo, Monaco GP 2008

   Thanks to the philosophy of constant evolution advocated by Rampf, the team did not pursue extravagant solutions but instead sought total coherence between mechanics and aerodynamics. The F1.08 was a fast and honest car, easy to drive at the limit, thanks to the work carried out in the Hinwil wind tunnel equipped with the Albert2 supercomputer (one of the most powerful of the time for CFD calculations). Aerodynamic engineers used this technology to sculpt airflow around the front wheels, making the BMW Sauber F1.08 the most efficient car on the grid in terms of “cleaning” turbulence. While aerodynamics were developed in Hinwil, the engine and gearbox were developed in Munich, working in synergy with the Swiss group. The result was a balanced and consistent single-seater capable of fighting for the title at least during the first two-thirds of the season.

BMW SAUBER F1.08, Robert Kubica
Catalunya-Barcelona, Spanish GP 2008

   In the hands of its two race drivers, the German Nick Heidfeld and the Polish Robert Kubica, the BMW-Sauber team enjoyed a lightning-fast start to the season, securing three consecutive podium finishes in the first three races and pole position in Bahrain. The car was so close to the leaders that whispers of the “Title” began circulating in the paddock. The Canadian weekend proved this, with Kubica and Heidfeld achieving a one-two finish, capitalizing on others’ mistakes but demonstrating solid race pace. Thanks to excellent weight distribution and strong mechanical balance, the car was very gentle on its tires, providing a much wider optimal operating window than its rivals, all combined with near-perfect reliability, so much so that in 18 Grands Prix the F1.08 suffered no retirements due to mechanical failures, a staggering statistic for the time. After the victory in Canada, Kubica unexpectedly found himself leading the championship; however, from mid-season onward, BMW management suddenly decided to halt development of the F1.08 to focus entirely on the new 2009 regulations (which included the KERS), a strategic suicide that would prove costly. In 2009 the new car turned out to be a disaster, ultimately leading BMW to withdraw from Formula 1. At the end of the championship, BMW-Sauber scored 135 points in the Constructors’ standings, finishing third behind Ferrari and McLaren-Mercedes, with Kubica third in the Drivers’ standings, level on points with reigning World Champion Kimi Räikkönen.