Mario Theissen (born 17 August 1952 in

Monschau Monschau (; french: Montjoie, ; wa, Mondjoye) is a small resort town in the Eifel region of western Germany, located in the Aachen district of North Rhine-Westphalia. Geography The town is located in the hills of the North Eifel, within the Ho ...

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwee ...

) is the former BMW Motorsport Director and was team principal of

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 ...

, the company's

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, ...

team from 2005 until 2009, when BMW sold the team back to Peter Sauber. After graduating from

RWTH Aachen University RWTH Aachen University (), also known as North Rhine-Westphalia Technical University of Aachen, Rhine-Westphalia Technical University of Aachen, Technical University of Aachen, University of Aachen, or ''Rheinisch-Westfälische Technische Hoch ...

with a

diplom A ''Diplom'' (, from grc, δίπλωμα ''diploma'') is an academic degree in the German-speaking countries Germany, Austria, and Switzerland and a similarly named degree in some other European countries including Albania, Bulgaria, Belarus, ...

mechanical engineering Mechanical engineering is the study of physical machines that may involve force and movement. It is an engineering branch that combines engineering physics and mathematics principles with materials science, to design, analyze, manufacture, ...

, Theissen joined BMW in the engine calculation department in 1977. Over the following years he took on various responsibilities in BMW's engine development division and in 1989 gained a doctorate in engineering from the

Ruhr University The Ruhr University Bochum (, ) is a public research university located in the southern hills of the central Ruhr area, Bochum, Germany. It was founded in 1962 as the first new public university in Germany after World War II. Instruction beg ...

Bochum Bochum ( , also , ; wep, Baukem) is a city in North Rhine-Westphalia. With a population of 364,920 (2016), is the sixth largest city (after Cologne, Düsseldorf, Dortmund, Essen and Duisburg) of the most populous German federal state of N ...

. In 1991 he was made head of Product Concepts at BMW and a year later became Director of Advanced Drivetrain Development. In 1994 he was promoted to Director of BMW Technik GmbH. In 1998, in addition to his job as head of BMW Technik, he took on the task of setting up the BMW Technology Office in

Palo Alto Palo Alto (; Spanish for "tall stick") is a charter city in the northwestern corner of Santa Clara County, California, United States, in the San Francisco Bay Area, named after a coastal redwood tree known as El Palo Alto. The city was es ...

California California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the m ...

. He became BMW Motorsport Director alongside

Gerhard Berger Gerhard Berger (born 27 August 1959) is an Austrian former Formula One racing driver. He competed in Formula One for 14 seasons, twice finishing 3rd overall in the championship ( and ), both times driving for Ferrari. He won ten Grands Prix, ach ...

in April 1999 with oversight of BMW's Formula One team and other motorsport activities, including BMW's factory entries in the

World Touring Car Championship The FIA World Touring Car Championship was an international touring car championship promoted by Eurosport Events and sanctioned by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA). It has had several different incarnations, including a sin ...

and the

24 Hours of Le Mans The 24 Hours of Le Mans (french: link=no, 24 Heures du Mans) is an endurance-focused sports car race held annually near the town of Le Mans, France. It is the world's oldest active endurance racing event. Unlike fixed-distance races whose ...

. BMW entered Formula One with a partnership agreement with

Williams Racing Williams Grand Prix Engineering Limited, currently racing in Formula One as Williams Racing, is a British Formula One motor racing team and constructor. It was founded by former team owner Frank Williams (Formula One), Frank Williams and aut ...

in 1998. In 2001, BMW was credited with having the most powerful engine on the grid. While achieving notable successes, such as a strong championship challenge in 2003, the relationship between team and engine maker began to deteriorate. During the course of the

2004 2004 was designated as an International Year of Rice by the United Nations, and the International Year to Commemorate the Struggle Against Slavery and its Abolition (by UNESCO). Events January * January 3 – Flash Airlines Flight ...

and

2005 File:2005 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: Hurricane Katrina in the Gulf of Mexico; the Funeral of Pope John Paul II is held in Vatican City; " Me at the zoo", the first video ever to be uploaded to YouTube; Eris was discover ...

F1 seasons, Theissen increasingly became publicly critical of the Williams team's inability to create a package capable of winning the constructor's championship or even multiple victories within a single season. However, Williams blamed BMW for not producing a good enough engine. This public deterioration of the relationship between BMW and Williams, and between Theissen and

Patrick Head Sir Patrick Michael Head (born 5 June 1946) is a British motorsport executive who is the co-founder and former Engineering Director of the Williams Formula One team. For 27 years from Head was technical director at Williams Grand Prix Engineer ...

in particular, was a factor in BMW's decision to buy

Sauber Sauber Motorsport AG is a Swiss motorsport engineering company. It was founded in 1970 (as PP Sauber AG) by Peter Sauber, who progressed through hillclimbing and the World Sportscar Championship to reach Formula One in . After operating it un ...

. Theissen was made team principal of the resulting

team, and in their first season, they achieved 5th in the constructors championship, both a considerable improvement on Sauber's previous season and a match for Williams' previous position in the standings. In 2007 the BMW Sauber team finished 2nd in the World Constructors Championship after McLaren-Mercedes were excluded following a spying episode. In the 2008 Canadian Grand Prix

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 ...

led

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 ...

to finish first and second, giving BMW its first victory as a constructor. After BMW's decision to sell the team back to Peter Sauber and depart from Formula 1, Theissen decided to leave the sport as well but retain his position as BMW Motorsport Director. Theissen retired from BMW on 30 June 2011, to be replaced by Jens Marquardt.

External links

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Theissen, Mario 1952 births Living people People from Monschau RWTH Aachen University alumni BMW people Formula One people German motorsport people German mechanical engineers Engineers from North Rhine-Westphalia Sportspeople from Cologne (region)