BMW have confirmed their exit from Formula One at the end of the current 2009 season. The shock news was announced this morning in a press conference called at their Munich headquarters.

The said that ‘freed up’ resources from its exit from the sport will be deployed in other areas. The world largest luxury car maker had taken over Sauber team in 2006 and since then have scored one victory.

“Of course, we, the employees in Hinwil and Munich, would all have liked to continue this ambitious campaign and show that this season was just a hiccup following three successful years,” said BMW Motorsport Director Mario Theissen. “But I can understand why this decision was made from a corporate perspective. We will now focus sharply on the remaining races and demonstrate our fighting spirit and put in a good result as we bid farewell to Formula One racing.”

The current season has been a downer for the Hinwil based team with Nick Heidfeld and Robert Kubica both languishing at 13th and 15th place respectively. The team had expected a turn around after their first win in Montreal last year but despite aerodynamic upgrades , the BMW’s remain one of the slower cars on the circuit.

“It only took us three years to establish ourselves as a top team with the BMW Sauber F1 Team,” began Board of Management member Dr. Klaus Draeger. “Unfortunately, we were unable to meet expectations in the current season. Nevertheless, our ten years of Formula One experience have had a major impact on our development engineers. We have racing to thank for numerous technological innovations as well as the competitive spirit that drives us to develop mass-produced cars.”

The team stated that redundancies at both Hinwil and Munich “cannot be quantified at present.”

“We are of the opinion that the premium segment has to remain a positive role model within our society,” CEO Norbert Reithofer said in a statement on Wednesday.

“We will remain loyal to motor sports, but we will do this in series that enable us to transfer technology more directly and to realise additional synergies.”

BMW’s head of research and development Klaus Draeger, who is the management board member responsible for motorsports, said the sole reason behind the decision was a realignment of its strategy to reflect its focus on reducing carbon emissions.

“The main reason for this decision was not our current performance or the general economic situation,” Draeger said.