First Sauber takeover talks fail

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.

It is said that 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.

"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 which would allow BMW-Sauber AG to reapply for full participation".

Sauber, 65, revealed 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 rumours he was interested in linking up with BMW-Sauber for the benefit of his Toro Rosso team are not true.