The BMW Sauber F1 Team has been sold back to Peter Sauber, according to the German manufacturer. The agreement is a surprise as BMW had previously announced it would be selling the team to Qadbak Investment Ltd., a Qatari-based consortium that has been shrouded in mystery.

The deal will not now be completed and instead Sauber, who sold his eponymous team to BMW in 2004, will resume control, as long as the team is granted an entry to the 2010 Formula One world championship. Due to BMW’s announcement that it was withdrawing from Formula One and the confusion over the new team ownership, the team has only been granted the reserve slot on the grid. However the withdrawal of Toyota has opened up a place, which the Sauber team is expected to fill.

BMW board member Dr. Klaus Draeger said: “This fulfills the most important requirement for a successful future for the team. Our relationship with Peter Sauber has always been excellent and marked by absolute respect.”

Sauber himself said he was “relieved that we have found this solution”. He added: “I am convinced that the new team has a very good future in Formula One, whose current transformation with new framework conditions will benefit the private teams.”

The new team is being restructured with around 130 employees to be made redundant, as the team slims down to around 250 people. The team did not rule out further redundancies “due to the aforementioned restructuring of the team.”

Given that BMW was faced with the alternative of closing the team entirely, the deal with Sauber is believed to have involved only a nominal amount.