{{Short description|German motorsport engineer}} {{Infobox person | name = Mario Theissen | image = Mario Theissen 01.JPG | alt = | caption = Mario Theissen (2015) | birth_date = {{Birth date and age|1952|8|17|df=y}} | birth_place = | death_date = | death_place = | net worth = | other_names = | alma_mater = | occupation = | employer = | predecessor = | successor = | known_for = | spouse = }} '''Mario Albert Theissen''' (born 17 August 1952 in [[Monschau]], [[Germany]]) is the former [[BMW]] Motorsport Director and was team principal of [[BMW Sauber]], the company's [[Formula One]] team from 2005 until 2009, when BMW sold the team back to [[Peter Sauber]].
== Career == After graduating from [[RWTH Aachen University]] with a [[diplom]] in [[mechanical engineering]], Theissen joined BMW in the engine calculation department in 1977. Over the following years he took on various responsibilities in BMW's engine development division and in 1989 gained a doctorate in engineering from the [[Ruhr University]] in [[Bochum]]. In 1991 he was made head of Product Concepts at BMW and a year later became Director of Advanced Drivetrain Development. In 1994 he was promoted to Director of BMW Technik GmbH.
In 1998, in addition to his job as head of BMW Technik, he took on the task of setting up the BMW Technology Office in [[Palo Alto]], [[California]].<ref>{{cite web| url = http://www.f1complete.com/content/view/2500/786/| title = F1 complete: Mario Theissen| access-date = 2009-03-28| publisher = F1complete.com| url-status = usurped| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20081105093631/http://www.f1complete.com/content/view/2500/786/| archive-date = 2008-11-05}}</ref>
He became BMW Motorsport Director alongside [[Gerhard Berger]] in April 1999 with oversight of BMW's Formula One team and other motorsport activities, including BMW's factory entries in the [[World Touring Car Championship]] and the [[24 Hours of Le Mans]].<ref>{{cite web| url = http://www.bmw-sauber-f1.com/en/index.html| title = Profile: BMW Motorsport Director| access-date = 2006-09-26| publisher = BMW Sauber F1 Team| url-status = dead| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20120405153835/http://www.bmw-sauber-f1.com/en/index.html| archive-date = 2012-04-05}}</ref>
BMW entered Formula One supplying turbo engines to [[Brabham]] in the 1980s, and [[Nelson Piquet]] became world champion with that car in 1983. Later, BMW set a partnership agreement with [[Williams Grand Prix Engineering|Williams Racing]] in 1998. In 2001, BMW was credited with having the most powerful engine on the grid. While achieving notable successes, such as a strong championship challenge in 2003, the relationship between team and engine maker began to deteriorate. During the course of the [[2004 Formula One season|2004]] and [[2005 Formula One season|2005]] F1 seasons, Theissen increasingly became publicly critical of the Williams team's inability to create a package capable of winning the constructor's championship or even multiple victories within a single season.<ref>{{cite news |title = BMW: Williams must improve |url = https://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/motorsport/formula_one/3036349.stm |publisher = BBC Sport|date =2003-05-18 |access-date = 2006-09-26}}</ref> However, Williams blamed BMW for not producing a good enough engine.<ref>{{cite news |title = Williams criticises partner BMW |url =https://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/motorsport/formula_one/4075286.stm |publisher = BBC Sport |date = 2005-06-08 |access-date = 2006-09-26}}</ref> This public deterioration of the relationship between BMW and Williams, and between Theissen and [[Patrick Head]] in particular, was a factor in BMW's decision to buy [[Sauber]].<ref>{{cite news |title = BMW buys Sauber to form own team |url = https://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/motorsport/formula_one/4118472.stm |publisher = BBC Sport |date = 2005-06-22 |access-date = 2006-07-13}}</ref>
Theissen was made team principal of the resulting [[BMW Sauber]] team, and in their first season, they achieved 5th in the constructors championship, both a considerable improvement on Sauber's previous season and a match for Williams' previous position in the standings. In 2007 the BMW Sauber team finished 2nd in the World Constructors Championship after McLaren-Mercedes were excluded following a spying episode. In the [[2008 Canadian Grand Prix]] [[Robert Kubica]] led [[Nick Heidfeld]] to finish first and second, giving BMW its first victory as a constructor. After BMW's decision to sell the team back to Peter Sauber and depart from Formula 1, Theissen decided to leave the sport as well but retain his position as BMW Motorsport Director.<ref>{{cite news |title = BMW's Mario Theissen leaves Formula 1 |url = https://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/motorsport/formula_one/8386215.stm |publisher = BBC Sport |date = 2009-11-30 |access-date = 2009-12-02}}</ref>
Theissen retired from BMW on 30 June 2011, to be replaced by [[Jens Marquardt]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.bmw-motorsport.com/ms_en/news/november_2010/mario_theissen_to_hand_over_to_jens_marquardt_on_1_july_2011|title=Mario Theissen handed over to Jens Marquardt on 1 July 2011|publisher=BMW|date=24 November 2010|access-date=2010-11-24|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101129024320/http://www.bmw-motorsport.com/ms_en/news/november_2010/mario_theissen_to_hand_over_to_jens_marquardt_on_1_july_2011|archive-date=29 November 2010}}</ref>
==References== {{Reflist}}
== External links == {{Commons category}}
{{Sauber}} {{BMW Formula One}} {{Authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Theissen, Mario}} [[Category:1952 births]] [[Category:Living people]] [[Category:People from Monschau]] [[Category:RWTH Aachen University alumni]] [[Category:BMW people]] [[Category:Formula One team principals]] [[Category:Formula One engine engineers]] [[Category:German motorsport people]] [[Category:German mechanical engineers]] [[Category:Engineers from North Rhine-Westphalia]] [[Category:Sportspeople from Cologne (region)]]