BMW has been involved in Formula One in a number of capacities since the inauguration of the World Drivers' Championship in 1950. The company entered occasional races in the 1950s and 1960s, before building the BMW M12/13 inline-four turbocharged engine in the 1980s. This engine was the result of a deal between BMW and Brabham, which resulted in the team's chassis being powered by BMW engines from 1982 until 1987, a period in which Nelson Piquet won the 1983 championship driving a Brabham BT52-BMW. BMW also supplied the M12/13 on a customer basis to the ATS, Arrows, Benetton and Ligier teams during this period, with various degrees of success. In 1988, Brabham temporarily withdrew from the sport and BMW withdrew its official backing from the engines, which were still used by the Arrows team under the Megatron badge. Turbocharged engines were banned by the revised Formula One Technical Regulations for 1989, rendering the M12/13 obsolete.
Robert Kubica crosses the finish line to win the 2008 Canadian Grand Prix, the only Formula One race that BMW has won as a full works team.
Gerhard Mitter was killed as a result of crashing his BMW 269 Formula Two car during practice for the 1969 German Grand Prix.
Bernie Ecclestone, the team principal of Brabham, signed a deal with BMW for a supply of M12/13 engines in 1980.
The association between BMW and Brabham lasted from 1981 until 1987. Pictured is Nelson Piquet driving the BMW-engined Brabham BT54 at the 1985 German Grand Prix.
Formula One, commonly 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 FIA Formula One World Championship has been one of the world's premier forms of racing since its inaugural running in 1950. The word formula in the name refers to the set of rules all participants' cars must follow. A Formula One season consists of a series of races, known as Grands Prix. Grands Prix take place in multiple countries and continents on either purpose-built circuits or closed public roads.
Juan Manuel Fangio's 1951 title-winning Alfa Romeo 159
Stirling Moss's Lotus 18 at the Nürburgring during 1961
Stefan Johansson driving for Ferrari at the 1985 European Grand Prix
Damon Hill driving for Williams at the 1995 Canadian Grand Prix