Bridgestone Motorsport has produced a special Limited Edition F1 Potenza Snow Tyre at the request of the BMW Sauber F1 Team which will be conducting a demonstration run of their F1.06 car this Sunday (4 February) at the prestigious White Turf horse racing event in St.Moritz, Switzerland.

The BMW Sauber F1 Team is running the car at the request of team sponsor Credit Suisse, who are main sponsors and partners of the event which is this year celebrating 100 years of international horse racing in St.Moritz.

Due to the extreme conditions in which the BMW Sauber F1.06 will run, the special F1 snow tyres, produced by Bridgestone Motorsport's Technical Centre in Tokyo, feature 420 studs on each of the front tyres and 588 studs on each of the rear tyres. It took two Bridgestone technicians over 16 hours to manually insert all 2,016 studs into the double layer of tread compound on one set of tyres alone. Similarly, the horses racing on the frozen lake at St. Moritz will also have four studs and a rubber plate attached to each of their front and rear shoes.

Made from tungsten and embedded in aluminium casings, Bridgestone's tyre studs have been designed to specifically provide reliable grip on ice and hard-packed snow, exactly the conditions which can be expected at the event where night time temperatures have recently been dropping to approximately -15°Celsius.

A similar set of tyres was also recently produced for the Scuderia Ferrari F1 team for their pre-season event on the slopes of Madonna di Campiglio in Italy.

By utilising the tread design of Bridgestone's Potenza F1 extreme weather tyres, the irregular placement of the studs in the tyre tread blocks is intended to maximise performance of each stud in the harsh conditions. In reverse to the policy of transferring technology from F1 tyre development to road car tyres, Bridgestone has transferred its knowledge of road car winter tyre tread compounds to the F1 snow tyres, using a soft, high-grip compound which will enable the tyres to work at a much lower working temperature range to that normally experienced by an F1 tyre on a race circuit.

The Bridgestone Corporation manufactures both studded and studless road tyres for use by the general consumer. The Bridgestone Noranza studded tyre provides exceptional grip on the ice, without sacrificing comfort, handling and quietness and with its irregular placed aluminium studs was instrumental in the philosophy behind the Limited Edition Bridgestone Potenza F1 snow tyre.

From Bridgestone's range of studless tyres, and more suited to Continental European winters, is the Blizzak LM20. After comparative tests by a leading European automotive magazine this tyre was "highly recommended" for its outstanding all-round capabilities and described as "a very well-balanced tyre: top- class on dry, very good on wet and ice, with good snow and wear performance". The Blizzak LM20 utilises a compound with high silica content, similar to that used by the Bridgestone Potenza F1 snow tyre.

The BMW Sauber F1 Team demonstration run is scheduled to take place with German F1 star Nick Heidfeld behind the wheel at 14:00hrs on Sunday 4 February.

BMW has announced it is to quit Formula 1 at the end of the 2009 season, as AUTOSPORT predicted last night.

The news was confirmed at a press conference in Munich this morning, and comes on the back of a disappointing campaign for the outfit.

Dr. Norbert Reithofer, chairman of the BMW board, said that the decision was made after a refining of the company's future strategy.

"Of course, this was a difficult decision for us. But it's a resolute step in view of our company's strategic realignment," he said.

"Premium will increasingly be defined in terms of sustainability and environmental compatibility. This is an area in which we want to remain in the lead. In line with our Strategy Number ONE, we are continually reviewing all projects and initiatives to check them for future viability and sustainability. Our Formula 1 campaign is thus less a key promoter for us.

"Mario Theissen has been in charge of our motor sports program since 1999. We have scored a large number of successes in this period, including some in Formula 1 racing. I would like to express my sincere gratitude to Mario Theissen and his team for this."

BMW motorsport director Mario Theissen, who spearheaded the company's efforts as an engine supplier with Williams and then later with BMW Sauber, said he understood the reasons behind the withdrawal.

"Of course, we, the employees in Hinwil and Munich, would all have liked to continue this ambitious campaign and show that this season was just a hiccup following three successful years," he said. "But I can understand why this decision was made from a corporate perspective. We will now focus sharply on the remaining races and demonstrate our fighting spirit and put in a good result as we bid farewell to Formula 1 racing."

Dr. Klaus Draeger, member of the board who is responsible for development, said this season's poor results had played a part in the move to quit F1.

"It only took us three years to establish ourselves as a top team," he said. "Unfortunately, we were unable to meet expectations in the current season.

"Nevertheless, our ten years of Formula 1 experience have had a major impact on our development engineers. We have racing to thank for numerous technological innovations as well as the competitive spirit that drives us to develop mass-produced cars."

Peter Sauber has ruled out returning to F1 as a team owner and boss, but amid BMW's impending withdrawal insists he will try hard to safeguard the Hinwil based outfit he founded in 1993.

The 65-year-old Swiss sold his independent outfit to the Munich manufacturer in late 2005, and admitted last Wednesday that BMW's decision to quit in the middle of its fourth championship campaign was a total surprise.

"One thing is clear: I will do everything possible to save the jobs of my former employees," Sauber is quoted as saying by Germany's Auto Bild.

But despite his ongoing 20 per cent ownership in the team that still bears his name, warned: "I cannot perform a miracle, and
no longer will I be the chief on the pitwall.

"I have told people that I will use all my contacts, but that guarantees nothing," Sauber continued. "I'm just a consultant. Ultimately, only BMW in Munich can decide how to proceed."

He said he does not know what is going to happen next, admitted a Honda/Brawn solution is an option, and insists that "time is short, a solution must be on the table as quickly as possible".

Renault driver Nelson Piquet's famous father is a candidate to take over the Hinwil based BMW-Sauber team, according to the Brazilian newspaper O Globo.

It is claimed that 56-year-old Brazilian Piquet, a former triple world champion, may be eyeing Sauber in collaboration with Super Nova GP2 team chief David Sears.

"All I can say is that I like the name 'Piquet F1'. What do you think?" Piquet's son and namesake, who on Monday may be formally stepped down as Fernando Alonso's Renault teammate, is said to have reacted to the report.

Mentioned by the Swiss newspaper Blick as a possible Sauber savior is Fritz Kaiser, who sold his original team share to Red Bull in 1999.

Joan Villadelprat is also a name doing the rounds after his Epsilon Euskadi application to debut in 2010 was turned down by the FIA.

"To take
BMW's place would be difficult, but if a vacancy becomes available we will be there," he told the Spanish sports newspaper AS.

Villadelprat claims his team would be better placed than the new entrants Campos, Manor and USF1. "In the US there are only 15 people working on their project.

"Manor is trying to sell part of the shares and of Adrian (Campos' project) I know nothing, but the rumors are that it is not doing so well," he said.

"I am in permanent contact with the FIA and Ecclestone. I am sure that we will be in F1, I don't know if it's in a week, a month or a year."

Initial attempts to rescue the Sauber team in the wake of BMW's impending withdrawal have failed, according to reports in the German language press.

The reports say team founder and 20 per cent shareholder Peter Sauber, and team boss Mario Theissen, held talks with BMW executives about performing a Brawn/Honda-style management takeover.

However, August 5 was set as the deadline to complete the deal and still have the Hinwil based team included in the current form of the new Concorde Agreement which the FOTA confirmed Wednesday has been signed.

"Despite all efforts the timeframe was not sufficient to find a solution to such a complex transaction," Theissen is quoted as saying by Spiegel Online.

The team is therefore not included in the 2009-2012 Concorde, but FOTA said on Wednesday that it will "support any initiative whichwould allow BMW-Sauber AG to reapply for full participation".

Sauber, 65, did say that potential investors have nonetheless been identified and efforts will continue to save the Swiss based outfit he founded in 1993.

Ousted Renault driver Nelson Piquet's famous father was linked with the team, but the Brazilian is said to have now played down those reports in the Swiss media.

In the Austrian newspaper Salzburger Nachrichten, meanwhile, Red Bull mogul Dietrich Mateschitz said rumors he was interested in linking up with BMW-Sauber for the benefit of his Toro Rosso team are not true.

Williams CEO Adam Parr says the Grove team is not the only Formula 1 outfit opposing expanding the grid to 14 cars for next year, and he insists logistically and financially it would be unsustainable.

Team boss Frank Williams has made it clear that he will not vote in favour of allowing an extra team in order to make room for BMW Sauber, who has no spot on the grid for next season.