The BMW Sauber F1.09 was the

Formula One Formula One (also known as Formula 1 or F1) is the highest class of international racing for open-wheel single-seater formula racing cars sanctioned by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA). The World Drivers' Championship, ...

car with which the

BMW Sauber BMW has been involved in Formula One in a number of capacities since the inauguration of the World Drivers' Championship in . The company entered occasional races in the 1950s and 1960s (often under Formula Two regulations), before building ...

team competed in the

2009 Formula One World Championship The 2009 FIA Formula One World Championship was the 63rd season of FIA Formula One motor racing. It featured the 60th Formula One World Championship which was contested over 17 events commencing with the on 29 March and ending with the ina ...

. The car was launched on 20 January 2009 at

Circuit de Valencia Circuit Ricardo Tormo, also known as ''Circuit de Valencia'' and officially named ''Circuit de la Comunitat Valenciana Ricardo Tormo'', is a motorsport race track located in Cheste (Valencian Community, Spain) and built in 1999. The track is n ...

in Spain. It was driven by Poland's

Robert Kubica Robert Józef Kubica (; born 7 December 1984) is a Polish racing and rally driver. He was the first and, , the only Polish racing driver to compete in Formula One. Between 2006 and 2009 he drove for the BMW Sauber F1 team, promoted from test d ...

and Germany's

Nick Heidfeld Nick Lars Heidfeld (born 10 May 1977) is a German professional racing driver. Despite scoring regular podium finishes in with Williams Grand Prix Engineering, Williams, and in and with BMW in Formula One, BMW Sauber, Heidfeld never won a rac ...

, both retained from . The chassis was designed by

Willy Rampf Willy Rampf (born 20 June 1953) is a German car engineer who is currently a technical consultant for Williams Racing and was the former technical director of the Sauber Formula One team. Career Rampf was born in Maria Thalheim, studied Automo ...

, Walter Reidl, Christoph Zimmermann and

Willem Toet Willem Toet (born 29 March 1952) is an Australian Formula One aerodynamicist. He is currently the Senior Sales Manager and Aerodynamics consultant for Sauber Aerodynamics and Alfa Romeo Racing. He was previously the head of aerodynamics for the ...

with the powertrain being designed by

Markus Duesmann Marcus, Markus, Márkus or Mărcuș may refer to: * Marcus (name), a masculine given name * Marcus (praenomen), a Roman personal name Places * Marcus, a main belt asteroid, also known as (369088) Marcus 2008 GG44 * Mărcuş, a village in Dobârl� ...

Season summary

After the team's impressive performance in

2008 File:2008 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Lehman Brothers went bankrupt following the Subprime mortgage crisis; Cyclone Nargis killed more than 138,000 in Myanmar; A scene from the opening ceremony of the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing; ...

, winning their first race and coming third in the championship, much was expected of them. BMW made a promising start to the season, with Kubica running second at

Melbourne Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a met ...

and lapping faster than the leader before retiring in a collision, and Heidfeld finishing second at the chaotic Malaysian GP. However, the F1.09 ultimately proved to be disappointing. At times, the drivers could barely scrape through to Q2, let alone challenge for pole. Both drivers expressed discontent with the slow developments to the car. Towards the end of the season things began to look up, with the cars managing fourth and fifth at

Spa-Francorchamps The Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps (), frequently referred to as ''Spa'', is a motor-racing circuit located in Stavelot, Belgium. It is the current venue of the Formula One Belgian Grand Prix, hosting its first Grand Prix in 1925, and has he ...

and Kubica finishing second at

Brazil Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...

. However, the damage had been done, and BMW announced that 2009 would be their last season in Formula One. The team eventually finished sixth in the Constructors' Championship.

Complete Formula One results

( key) (results in bold indicate pole position; results in ''italics'' indicate fastest lap) Driver failed to finish, but was classified as they had completed >90% of the race distance.
Half points awarded as less than 75% of race distance completed.

References

2009 Formula One season cars BMW Sauber Formula One cars Sauber F1.09 {{F1-stub