Every year the Concorso d’Elanza Villa d’Este gives us an insight into the most exclusive design of BMW. But in 2025 we brought something else to the table: a conversation about the intersection of engineering, design and races.
BMWblog was host of his annual design discussion on the banks of the Como lake this year entitled “Born on the Racetrack; The BMW -C -CEO Frank van Meel, head of the BMW Design Compact Class and BMW M Oliver Heilmer, and BMW Factory Driver Augusto Farfus. In the course of an hour, the panel included everything from the future from M Design to Rennstech in street cars. But a question – confiscated by a fan from the BMWblog community -: “Formula 1 is greater than ever. Why does BMW still ignore it?”
Van Meel did not duck the question. He smiled, paused and offered the kind of direct answer that they do not always get into a corporate environment. “We don’t ignore Formula 1,” he said. “We just don’t take part. That is on purpose.”
F1 is striking. But is it useful?
On paper, the idea that BMW returns to Formula 1 is a child’s play. The brand has deep roots in sports – think in the 1980s in Brabham or in the BMW Sauber -ära in the 2000s. A round of the F1 network next to McLaren, Ferrari, Mercedes or the Audi would inspire fans next year and get nostalgia upset. But nostalgia alone does not justify multimillion euro engine sports program.
Instead, BMW has decided to concentrate on endurance racing. In 2024, the brand returned to the first -class sports car racing with the BMW M Hybrid V8 and competed in Le Mans, Daytona and the FIA World Endurance Championship. It is another way – in a way – but far more relevant to the street cars that do customers actually drive.
“For us, the World Endurance Championship was the right place,” said Van Meel. “These cars are simply closer to what we build for the street.”
Why endurance racing is more important for BMW
Van Meel clearly did it. F1 is a technical shop window, yes – but it is also a silo. The ultras -specific technologies developed for Formula 1 rarely make it out of the paddock and the exhibition room. This is not the case with endurance racing, in which the strategies for hybrid systems and thermal management are often only a few steps away from what BMW M develops into its production models.
“From Formula 1 it is almost impossible to learn things and transfer them to series production cars. It’s too far away,” he said.
In contrast, the challenges of 24-hour racing extracting temperatures, long-distance duration, energy recovery to the BMW engineers, on which M-cars of the next generation are working. The proof? Just look at the new M5. Frank and Augusto said that they had learned a lot about how a hybrid drive train behaves under strenuous conditions.
Run with purpose, not just for the podium
BMW’s racing philosophy has always leaned practically. Even in the most dominant motorsport -epoch – whether DTM, GT3 or alms – the goal was not only to win, but to learn. This spirit lives in Lmdh today. And for BMW M, this is more valuable than the pursuit of headlines on Sunday afternoon.
“We don’t just go to marketing,” said van Meel. “Of course we use it for marketing, but it’s not just that. It has to connect to the real cars what people can buy. So LMDH is simply the better fit.”
So is a return to Formula 1 forever out of the table? Who knows. But for the time being, BMW makes it clear: race is a laboratory, not a spectacle. And WEC simply does not offer the type of feedback Loop F1. Nevertheless, we have heard that Formula 1 has appeared in BMW’s high -ranking discussions in the past ten years. “
Stay tuned -our full video of the Villa d’Este design panel will appear shortly, including more insights into the BMW M design, the philosophy behind the M2 CS and how BMW M develops in the electrical era.
