Source: BMW Sale Contingent on Grid Spot

One of F1B’s good sources—who has been right on a couple of insider pieces of news—connected with us earlier today after hearing that the much-debated sale of the BMW outfit to Swiss-based Qabak Investments will only happen if the team gets a place on the 2010 grid.

Call it a rumor, but it is a well-placed one.

As you’ll remember, BMW announced word of the sale an hour or so after the FIA had given the “final” 13th grid spot to the Malaysian-backed Lotus team. Since then, there have been questions about Qabak and just who its funders are .

Those questions have not been answered very clearly.

Most recently, Sir Frank Williams has been vocal in his opposition to the inclusion of a 14th team, citing concerns about room in the paddocks and the cost of a team coming to a grand prix but then not getting a place in the race. Others, such as Red Bull’s Christian Horner, have joined him.

Now, the concerns about Qabak just may be a moot point if BMW does not get its spot. We can assume that at some point Qabak will back out, even if the final status of the 2010 grid won’t be known until next year—it still depends on the viability of the new teams.

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