Dr Werner Laurenz Biography

By Andrew Hooper
May 15 2002

The public face of BMW within the BMW WilliamsF1 team are those of Gerhard Berger and Dr Mario Theissen but behind the scenes there is team of dedicated BMW employees whose role is to work on Formula One. One such employee is Dr Werner Laurenz, BMW Motorsport head of engine development. You won't see him in front of the cameras as he is more comfortable been behind the scenes but his role in the development of both the 2000 and 2001 BMW V10 engines should not be forgotten. He is a person who enjoys sitting in front of computer screens monitoring the performance of 'his' engine rather been out front.

The 2000 E41 engine, designed by Paul Rosche, was further developed under the guidance of Dr Laurenz to the point that it was producing over 800hp. Over the 2000 season he and his team was able to take the E41 and increase its competitiveness and as a result we saw the BMW WilliamsF1 team take third place in the constructors' championship.

Dr Laurenz has a staff of 220 working in the Formula 1 department of BMW. For the 2001 season his role has once again been to co-ordinate the design and development of the all new P80 2001 engine. The design and development of the new P80 engine is been done under the direction of Dr Laurenz. The new engine has to be smaller, lighter, and even more reliable than its predecessor. The BMW WilliamsF1 team has to have an engine that will allow them to compete with the two top teams Ferrari and McLaren.

Dr Laurenz is now in the Formula One spotlight but his career has seen him spend considerable amounts of time in the area of engine development. He was to study mechanical engineering and go onto gaining his doctorate. He spent most of his career working with Audi, where he joined in 1982. In 1986 became Project Manager for Engine Development.

During his time with Audi it would seem him responsible for several motorsport endeavours including Audi's involvement in the Class 1 German Touring Car Championship. He was also responsible for engine development in Audi's Super Touring car. All these projects would see Dr Laurenz develop a reputation as an excellent engineer.

But in 1999 he was to leave Audi for BMW. Previously engine development at BMW was in the hands of legendary engine designer Paul Rosche but in 1999 he was to retire and his successor was to be Dr Laurenz.

Rosche had designed such notable BMW engines as the 2 litre Formula Two engine and the 1.5 litre Turbocharged Formula One engine. His last engine was to be the E41 V10 Formula One engine that was to power the WilliamsF1 FW22 in the 2000 Formula One championship. B with Rosche's retirement Dr Laurenz was to take on the role of developing this engine.

For the 2001 season Dr Laurenz was to be directly responsible for the team that would design and development the new P80 V10 engine. Based on the performance of the 2001 WilliamsF1 FW23 in the early part of the 2001 season it looks like Dr Laurenz and his team have gotten things right but in the world one can not rest and Dr Laurenz and his team are always thinking about how to improve engine performance.

The 2001 season would show that Dr Laurenz and his team were on the right track with the P80 engine been rated as the most powerful Formula One engine. Now Dr Laurenz has the new 2002 P82 engine to develop after initial test runs after the completion of the 2001 championship. The new P82 engine is reported to be smaller, lighter, and more powerful than the 2001 engine. Time will tell but if experience is anything to go by Dr Laurenz and his team of engineers will have developed another outstanding engine.