BMW: Ten years in F1 in 100 pictures

Ralf Schumacher's Williams-BMW gets airborne in 2002

Ralf Schumacher’s Williams-BMW gets airborne in 2002

BMW entered F1 at the beginning of this decade and left at the end of it.

But as well as being an engine supplier to Williams for six years, then winning a race after taking over a team of their own, BMW also recognised the importance of doing something a bit special.

They put Alessandro Zanardi back behind the wheel of an F1 car, they took F1 back to the Nürburging, and they created the excellent Pit Lane Park.

It’s for that as much as their on-track performances that I’ll miss them. This gallery picks out a selection of highlights from their ten years in the sport.

Ten years of BMW in F1 in 100 pictures

Jorg Muller tests a BMW engine in 1999
Ralf Schumacher and Bruno Junquiera presented the first Williams-BMW
But Jenson Button took the second seat instead of Junquiera
Button in a first-lap crash at Monaco
Ralf Schumacher races brother Michael to the first turn in Spain
Button was an impressive third on the grid at Spa
Ralf Schumacher spun off during the Japanese Grand prix
Newcomer Juan Pablo Montoya made a name for himself by taking on Schumacher
The first win for Williams-BMW - and Ralf Schumacher- came at Imola in 2001
The two Williams-BMWs led in Austria but Coulthard's McLaren won
Ralf Schumacher won at the Hockenheimring after Montoya retired
Montoya finally scored his maiden win at Monza
The Williams-BMW team in 2001
2002 didn't start well for Ralf Schumacher
Montoya managed seven pole positions but no wins in 2002
The Williams-BMW struggled to keep the Ferraris behind
Especially when it rained, like at Silverstone
The pair led at Monza but the Ferraris won again
Ralf Schumacher at Suzuka
The team's most competitive season was 2003. Ralf Schumacher won at home
Montoya won the Monaco Grand Prix after Schumacher led
Schumacher's Ferrari got the better of the Williams pair at Canada
Montoya fell out with Williams after Ralf Schumacher won at Magny-Cours
Montoya took a crushing win at Hockenheim and looked good for the championship
But after a late change in the tyre rules Ferrari won the final races and both titles
The 2004 Williams was a strange creation
Montoya finished on the podium at Sepang but then the team began to struggle
Montoya in the tusk-nosed Williams at Montreal
Montoya was left solo after Ralf was injured at Indianapolis
Marc Gene stood in for Schumacher for two races before being dropped
The team brought a more conventional nose for the Hungarian Grand Prix
New replacement Antonio Pizzonia raced well at Spa before retiring
Ralf Schumacher made his comeback at Shanghai
Montoya beat future McLaren team mate Raikkonen at Interlagos
Montoya's victory was the last for Williams - but not for BMW
Test driver Pizzonia performs for the crowd at Melbourne in 2005
Heidfeld scored the first podium of 2005 for the team at Sepang
Heidfeld and Webber in action at Imola
Heidfeld and Webber in the pack at the Hockenheimring
Webber at The Brickyard in 2005
Pizzonia was promoted to the team again after Heidfeld was injured
Webber at Spa, where he finished fourth
This was Pizzonia's final stint as an F1 racer
Frank Williams and Mario Theissen went separate ways after 2005
The final race for Williams-BMW was the Chinese Grand Prix
The Williams-BMW team at Shanghai in 2005
Touring car champion Andy Priaulx tested during the winter
Up-and-coming driver Sebastian Vettel also sampled a Williams-BMW
Villeneuve passing Trulli at Sepang
BMW took over Sauber to form their own team in 2006
Jacques Villeneuve with new wife Joanna at Montreal in 2006
These unusual tower wings appeared at France in 2006 before being banned
The BMW Pit Lane Park proved a popular attraction...
...especially when Nigel Mansell showed up
Heidfeld in the British Grand Prix
BMW truck in 2006
Heidfeld with his fellow German drivers at the Hockenheimring
The Hockenheimring was Villeneuve's last outing for BMW
Robert Kubica replaced Villeneuve at the Hungaroring
Alonso passed Heidfeld at the start in Hungary
But Heidfeld scored the team's first podium finish
The team celebrate their first F1 podium
Vettel was the team's new test driver at Istanbul
He impressed the team with fastest time in practice
Kubica also impressed - finishing on the podium in his third race
The BMW team in 2006
Alessandro Zanardi samped an F1 BMW in 2006
Zanardi, who lost his legs in a crash, drove the car using special hand controls
A horrific crash for Kubica at Canada in 2007 shocked the team
Heidfeld brought cheer to the team by finishing on the podium
Vettel stood in for Kubica at Indianapolis
He finished eighth, becoming the sport's youngest-ever points-scorer
Kubica returned at Magny-Cours and scored a fine fourth place
Heidfeld was on the podium at Hungary again in 2007
BMW took time out to see how their car performed on snow
The car used specially modified tyres fitted with ice studs
Heidfeld also took the car to the world's great trac - the Nürburgring
The car was too low to take the conventional line around the Karussel
BMW launched their best F1 car in 2008
Kubica shared the front with with Hamilton at Melbourne
Heidfeld finished on the podium in the first round at Melbourne in 2008
Kubica gave the team their first pole position at Bahrain
Their breakthrough result cam at Canada - Heidfeld finishing second to Kubica
The team celebrate their one-two in Montreal
Heidfeld scored a great podium in the rain at Silverstone
A message for Heidfeld's son at the Hockenheimring in 2008
Kubica was on the podium again at Monza - wearing a special helmet
Another podium for Kubica at Japan kept him in the title race until the penultimate race
Kubica tried BMW's Williams-designed Le Mans winner at the end of 2008
Heidfeld and Kubica reveal the F1.09
2008 and 2009 BMWs
Kubica tests the 2009 BMW
Kubica tests the 2009 BMW
Kubica showed off a Formula BMW car at the Pit Lane Park in Sepang
But the uncompetitive F1.09 was a great disappointment
Heidfeld in the team's last home race at the Nurburgring
Kubica finished on the podium at Brazil after improvements were made to the car
The BMW board announced the team's dissolution at the end of 2009
The sun sets on the team's final F1 season in Abu Dhabi
The BMW team at the end of 2009 in Abu Dhabi

BMW in pictures

Images (C) Williams/LAT, Bridgestone, BMW ag

All credit goes to the Source of this article.

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