Sauber Petronas Engineering
Encyclopedia
Sauber Petronas Engineering AG was a company owned jointly by the Swiss racing car manufacturer Sauber
(60%) and the Malaysian oil company Petronas
(40%). The company was founded for the sole purpose of building engines to the Sauber formula one team.
The engines were for many years nearly identical to the ones used by Ferrari
but were branded Petronas. Sauber licenced nearly every legally licensable part from Ferrari
and even had several Ferrari engineers on staff. Many pointed out suspicious similarities between Ferrari and Sauber chassis, but no formal accusations were ever made, even if FIA rules require each team to design their own chassis. After the 2005 season, Sauber was bought by BMW
and the cooperation with Ferrari ended.
On December 21, 2009, Petronas was confirmed as moving from BMW Sauber to the newly formed Mercedes Grand Prix team.
The company also helped develop motorcycles like Petronas FP1
.
Sauber
Sauber F1 Team is a Swiss Formula One team. It was founded in the 1970s by Peter Sauber, who progressed through hillclimbing and the World Sportscar Championship to reach Formula One in 1993....
(60%) and the Malaysian oil company Petronas
Petronas
PETRONAS, short for Petroliam Nasional Berhad, is a Malaysian oil and gas company that was founded on August 17, 1974. Wholly owned by the Government of Malaysia, the corporation is vested with the entire oil and gas resources in Malaysia and is entrusted with the responsibility of developing and...
(40%). The company was founded for the sole purpose of building engines to the Sauber formula one team.
The engines were for many years nearly identical to the ones used by Ferrari
Scuderia Ferrari
Scuderia Ferrari is the racing team division of the Ferrari automobile marque. The team currently only races in Formula One but has competed in numerous classes of motorsport since its formation in 1929, including sportscar racing....
but were branded Petronas. Sauber licenced nearly every legally licensable part from Ferrari
Ferrari
Ferrari S.p.A. is an Italian sports car manufacturer based in Maranello, Italy. Founded by Enzo Ferrari in 1929, as Scuderia Ferrari, the company sponsored drivers and manufactured race cars before moving into production of street-legal vehicles as Ferrari S.p.A. in 1947...
and even had several Ferrari engineers on staff. Many pointed out suspicious similarities between Ferrari and Sauber chassis, but no formal accusations were ever made, even if FIA rules require each team to design their own chassis. After the 2005 season, Sauber was bought by BMW
BMW
Bayerische Motoren Werke AG is a German automobile, motorcycle and engine manufacturing company founded in 1916. It also owns and produces the Mini marque, and is the parent company of Rolls-Royce Motor Cars. BMW produces motorcycles under BMW Motorrad and Husqvarna brands...
and the cooperation with Ferrari ended.
On December 21, 2009, Petronas was confirmed as moving from BMW Sauber to the newly formed Mercedes Grand Prix team.
The company also helped develop motorcycles like Petronas FP1
Petronas FP1
The Petronas FP1 is a liquid-cooled inline three-cylinder homologation special sport bike that was produced in 2003 by Petronas.Originally developed jointly by Petronas and Sauber Petronas Engineering as the Petronas GP1 989cc prototype to compete in MotoGP, Petronas decided to race the motorcycle...
.