# Mario Theissen

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German motorsport engineer

Mario Theissen Mario Theissen (2015) Born (1952-08-17) 17 August 1952 (age 73)

**Mario Albert Theissen** (born 17 August 1952 in [Monschau](/source/Monschau), [Germany](/source/Germany)) is the former [BMW](/source/BMW) Motorsport Director and was team principal of [BMW Sauber](/source/BMW_Sauber), the company's [Formula One](/source/Formula_One) team from 2005 until 2009, when BMW sold the team back to [Peter Sauber](/source/Peter_Sauber).

## Career

After graduating from [RWTH Aachen University](/source/RWTH_Aachen_University) with a [diplom](/source/Diplom) in [mechanical engineering](/source/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](/source/Ruhr_University) in [Bochum](/source/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](/source/Palo_Alto), [California](/source/California).[1]

He became BMW Motorsport Director alongside [Gerhard Berger](/source/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](/source/World_Touring_Car_Championship) and the [24 Hours of Le Mans](/source/24_Hours_of_Le_Mans).[2]

BMW entered Formula One supplying turbo engines to [Brabham](/source/Brabham) in the 1980s, and [Nelson Piquet](/source/Nelson_Piquet) became world champion with that car in 1983. Later, BMW set a partnership agreement with [Williams Racing](/source/Williams_Grand_Prix_Engineering) 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](/source/2004_Formula_One_season) and [2005](/source/2005_Formula_One_season) 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.[3] However, Williams blamed BMW for not producing a good enough engine.[4] This public deterioration of the relationship between BMW and Williams, and between Theissen and [Patrick Head](/source/Patrick_Head) in particular, was a factor in BMW's decision to buy [Sauber](/source/Sauber).[5]

Theissen was made team principal of the resulting [BMW Sauber](/source/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](/source/2008_Canadian_Grand_Prix) [Robert Kubica](/source/Robert_Kubica) led [Nick Heidfeld](/source/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.[6]

Theissen retired from BMW on 30 June 2011, to be replaced by [Jens Marquardt](/source/Jens_Marquardt).[7]

## References

1. **[^](#cite_ref-1)** ["F1 complete: Mario Theissen"](https://web.archive.org/web/20081105093631/http://www.f1complete.com/content/view/2500/786/). F1complete.com. Archived from the original on 2008-11-05. Retrieved 2009-03-28.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-2)** ["Profile: BMW Motorsport Director"](https://web.archive.org/web/20120405153835/http://www.bmw-sauber-f1.com/en/index.html). BMW Sauber F1 Team. Archived from [the original](http://www.bmw-sauber-f1.com/en/index.html) on 2012-04-05. Retrieved 2006-09-26.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-3)** ["BMW: Williams must improve"](https://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/motorsport/formula_one/3036349.stm). BBC Sport. 2003-05-18. Retrieved 2006-09-26.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-4)** ["Williams criticises partner BMW"](https://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/motorsport/formula_one/4075286.stm). BBC Sport. 2005-06-08. Retrieved 2006-09-26.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-5)** ["BMW buys Sauber to form own team"](https://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/motorsport/formula_one/4118472.stm). BBC Sport. 2005-06-22. Retrieved 2006-07-13.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-6)** ["BMW's Mario Theissen leaves Formula 1"](https://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/motorsport/formula_one/8386215.stm). BBC Sport. 2009-11-30. Retrieved 2009-12-02.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-7)** ["Mario Theissen handed over to Jens Marquardt on 1 July 2011"](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). BMW. 24 November 2010. Archived from [the original](http://www.bmw-motorsport.com/ms_en/news/november_2010/mario_theissen_to_hand_over_to_jens_marquardt_on_1_july_2011) on 29 November 2010. Retrieved 2010-11-24.

## External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to [Mario Theissen](https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Category:Mario_Theissen).

v t e Sauber Motorsport Founder Peter Sauber Notable personnel Mariano Alperin Alessandro Alunni Bravi Andrea Benisi Jörn Becker Mattia Binotto Ruth Buscombe Dirk de Beer Lucia Conconi André de Cortanze Giampaolo Dall'Ara Elliot Dason-Barber Rémi Decorzent Gabriele Delli Colli Jost Capito Alessandro Cinelli Alex Chan Steve Clark Jacky Eeckelaert Luca Furbatto Eric Gandelin Craig Gardiner Brendan Gilhome René Hilhorst [ja] Nicolas Hennel Monisha Kaltenborn James Key Mike Krack Axel Kruse [pt] Urs Kuratle Josef Leberer Amiel Lindesay Jose Manuel López Tim Malyon Jan Monchaux Matt Morris Seamus Mullarkey Francesco Nenci Steve Nichols Tom McCullough John Owen Steven Petrik Pascal Picci [pt] Xevi Pujolar Willy Rampf Leo Ress [ja] Simone Resta Sergio Rinland Iñaki Rueda Paul Russell Tony Salter Marco Schüpbach Andreas Seidl Loïc Serra Erik Schuivens Mark Smith Julien Simon-Chautemps Stefano Sordo Lee Stevenson Willem Toet Mario Theissen Frédéric Vasseur Pierre Waché Ben Waterhouse Jonathan Wheatley Max Welti Ian Wright Jörg Zander Beat Zehnder Christoph Zimmermann Notable drivers Karl Wendlinger Heinz-Harald Frentzen Johnny Herbert Jean Alesi Nick Heidfeld Kimi Räikkönen Felipe Massa Giancarlo Fisichella Jacques Villeneuve Robert Kubica Sebastian Vettel Kamui Kobayashi Sergio Pérez Nico Hülkenberg Marcus Ericsson Charles Leclerc Zhou Guanyu Valtteri Bottas Gabriel Bortoleto Former drivers See category Sportscars C1 C2 C3 C4 C5 SHS C6 C7 C8 C9 C11 C291 C292 Formula One cars C12 C13 C14 C15 C16 C17 C18 C19 C20 C21 C22 C23 C24 As BMW Sauber F1.06 F1.07 F1.08 F1.09 C29 C30 C31 C32 C33 C34 C35 C36 C37 As Alfa Romeo C38 C39 C41 C42 C43 C44 C45 Related Audi in Formula One Alfa Romeo in Formula One BMW in Formula One Sauber Academy

v t e BMW in Formula One Notable personnel Mehdi Ahmadi Toni Cuquerella Adam Baker Ann Bradshaw Andy Borme Dirk de Beer Giampaolo Dall'Ara Markus Duesmann Brendan Gilhome Mike Krack Urs Kuratle Torbjörn Larsson Josef Leberer Amiel Lindesay Seamus Mullarkey Ossi Oikarinen John Owen Heinz Paschen Willy Rampf Walter Riedl Paul Russell Marco Schüpbach Peter Sauber Andreas Seidl Loïc Serra Mario Theissen Willem Toet Pierre Waché Ben Waterhouse Jörg Zander Christoph Zimmermann Beat Zehnder Notable drivers Nick Heidfeld Robert Kubica Jacques Villeneuve Sebastian Vettel Race winners Robert Kubica Formula One cars F1.06 F1.07 F1.08 F1.09 Related BMW Motorsport Sauber Motorsport As an engine manufacturer World Champion(s) Nelson Piquet Drivers' titles 1983

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Mario Theissen](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mario_Theissen) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mario_Theissen?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.