BMW-Sauber's future in Formula One is in serious doubt amid increased speculation that the German car manufacturer will announce its withdrawal from the sport at the end of this season.
An emergency press conference has been called at BMW's headquarters in Munich for Wednesday, where it is believed that the car giant may reveal that it has decided to end its involvement in Formula One.
The official invite to the press conference said it had been called due to "current developments in motor sport".
The press conference will be hosted by Dr. Norbert Reithofer, the chairman of the BMW board, Dr. Klaus Draeger, the director for development, and Mario Theissen, BMW motorsport director. The attendance of such senior management figures suggests that the announcement will be very important and may shape their motorsport campaigns for many years to come.
Officials at BMW have now refused to comment about what the press conference was about, but they did confirm that it could be classed as "very important" news.
BMW-Sauber had initially hoped to fight for the world championship this year on both fronts, but the F1.09 has unfortunately fallen short of its high expectations. Its struggles, combined with the abandonment of its KERS, are likely to have played a part in any decision taken about the future of the team.
Although BMW-Sauber had a troubled start to the season, despite being likely to win in Australia, Theissen has made it clear on many occasions that the team's form had not changed BMW-Sauber's commitment to Formula One.
"We analysed and evaluated the situation and the Formula One programme with the board prior to the start of the season in February," said Theissen. "It was overall a very positive evaluation and judgement, and that hasn't changed.
"Apparently everybody is disappointed about the sporting results, but other than that there is no news and we have not discussed it since."
However, sources have suggested to the F1 Times that a review meeting was planned for July to decide the future of the team - and this may be behind any announcement planned for the morning.
Should BMW-Sauber confirm it is pulling out of the sport, it will be the second car manufacturing giant to do so in just eight months - with Honda having announced last December that it was to leave the sport.
BMW-Sauber was on the verge of signing a Concorde Agreement that would have committed the team to Formula One until the end of 2012, and with such an agreement so close, the only other possibilities are a junior team being formed, unlikely with all 13 places taken for next year, or a Le Mans squad, which is likely as BMW are fighting Audi on all fronts in the automotive industry currently.
UPDATE: BMW-Sauber have now confirmed, as predicted by the F1 Times, that they are leaving Formula One to form a Le Mans squad. Sources indicate at this point that Peter Sauber will go into negotiations today with the BMW board to buy back the share of his former team that the sold in late 2005, but only if he can use the current BMW equipment.
More on that story as we get it.
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