Intel

1-8 Scale F1 Grand Prix Cars

Official Marketing Text:

BMW’s first car after purchasing the Sauber team in 2005, the F1.06 competed in the 2006 Formula One season. Driven initially by Nick Heidfeld and 1997 World Champion Jacques Villeneuve, the car’s level of competitiveness was a pleasant surprise in what was to be a transitional year for the team. The F1.06 was a points contender all year, only failing to score points in five races. Villeneuve was replaced by rookie Robert Kubica following the German Grand Prix after sustaining an injury in a crash. Days after then Hungarian Grand Prix, in which Kubica drove to a solid seventh place before being disqualified because his car was too light, BMW Sauber announced the switch was permanent. Villeneuve later revealed he left Formula One because he didn't want to be a part of a potential "shoot-out" with Kubica, feeling that, as a former world champion, he had no need to prove himself.

The F1.06 scored two third place podium finishes, Heidfeld in Hungary and Kubica in Italy, and 36 points over the course of the season, with the team finishing fifth in the Constructors' Championship, an improvement on Sauber's eighth position with 20 points in 2005.

This fine 1:12 scale model of the BMW Sauber F1.06 Nosecone has been handcrafted and finished in our workshops with the co-operation and assistance of the manufacturer regarding original finishes, materials, archive imagery and drawings. The use of supremely accurate digital scanning of the original car has allowed us to perfectly recreate every detail at scale. Furthermore, it has undergone detailed scrutiny by both engineering and design teams to ensure complete accuracy of representation.

Official Marketing Text:

The first Formula One car to be fully designed by BMW, the F1.07 was BMW Sauber’s contender for the 2007 season. Retained from last season, Nick Heidfeld and Robert Kubica piloted the car with future four-time World Champion Sebastian Vettel taking the test and reserve driver role. Timo Glock was later signed as the team's second test driver as Vettel left for the Toro Rosso team.

Pre-season testing was very positive, leading to speculation that BMW could surprise the top teams, though BMW played down speculation citing reliability concerns. The F1.07 would go on to score points at every single race during the season and only once fail to have both cars qualify in the top ten, establishing the team as the third-fastest behind Ferrari and McLaren. It was acknowledged by team principal Mario Theissen that the performance gap between BMW Sauber and the two teams in front was less than the gap to the teams behind.

The F1.07 was also involved in one of the biggest crashes of the modern Formula One era at the Canadian Grand Prix. Kubica made contact with Jarno Trulli's Toyota whilst approaching the hairpin on lap 27 and hit a hump in the grass, lifting the car's nose into the air and leaving him unable to brake or steer. The car then hit the concrete retaining wall at 300.13 km/h (186.49 mph) and rolled as it came back across the track, striking the opposite wall on the outside of the hairpin and coming to rest on its side. It was later found that he had been subjected to a peak force of 75G during the crash. Kubica escaped with a sprained ankle and light concussion. Test driver Sebastian Vettel took Kubica’s place in the American Grand Prix, finishing eighth and becoming the youngest driver to score a FIA Formula One World Championship point at the time.

The F1.07 scored two podiums during the season, both through Heidfeld: second in Canada and third in Hungary. Overall, the team scored 101 Championship points and finished second in the Constructors’ Championship, partly due to McLaren’s disqualification. BMW Sauber had twice as many points as third place Renault but half as much as the totally dominant Ferrari team.

This fine 1:12 scale model of the BMW Sauber F1.07 Nosecone has been handcrafted and finished in our workshops with the co-operation and assistance of the manufacturer regarding original finishes, materials, archive imagery and drawings. The use of supremely accurate digital scanning of the original car has allowed us to perfectly recreate every detail at scale. Furthermore, it has undergone detailed scrutiny by both engineering and design teams to ensure complete accuracy of representation.