For the 2006 season the new BMW Sauber F1 Team has signed Nick Heidfeld from Williams to be their lead driver, while 1997 World Champion Jacques Villeneuve has had his contract with Sauber retained for the final year. The test third driver for the team will be Robert Kubica of Poland. Jacques Villeneuve would subsequently be replaced by Robert Kubica after the Canadian Grand Prix. The team will continue to use Sauber's facilities, mostly for chassis construction and wind tunnel testing, while BMW's headquarters in Munich will be responsible for building the new P86 V8.The team used a plain white livery in testing with the BMW symbol on the nosecone and the motto "BMW Power" on the reverse of the rear wing. The new livery, unveiled in Valencia on 17 January 2006, is the traditional BMW blue and white with a hint of red. Jacques Villeneuve scored the team's first points with a seventh place finish at the 2006 Malaysian Grand Prix , after Heidfeld retired from fifth with an engine failure late in the race. BMW Sauber F1 Team announced a technical partnership with Intel , which will eventually lead to technological improvements available on BMW road cars. Former Sauber title sponsor Petronas renewed their contract with the new team, although merely as a simple team sponsor. Credit Suisse will also remain, completing the trifecta of primary sponsors for the team.

The team used a plain white livery in testing with the BMW symbol on the nosecone and the motto "BMW Power" on the reverse of the rear wing. The new livery, unveiled in Valencia on 17 January 2006, is the traditional BMW blue and white with a hint of red. Jacques Villeneuve scored the team's first points with a seventh place finish at the 2006 Malaysian Grand Prix , after Heidfeld retired from fifth with an engine failure late in the race. Both Nick Heidfeld and Jacques Villeneuve picked up points in 4th and 6th places in the 2006 Australian Grand Prix , giving BMW Sauber 8 points towards their total. After a run of points finishes, Heidfeld scored the team's first podium in the 2006 Hungarian Grand Prix . Robert Kubica stood in for Villeneuve, who crashed heavily the weekend prior in the 2006 German Grand Prix . Kubica finished seventh in his debut race and thus scored two provisional points for the team. This result was however disqualified when stewards later discovered his car to be (unintentionally) two kilograms too light due to excessive tyre wear. A day later, BMW announced that Villeneuve was no longer to be retained by the team, which spelt the end of the Canadian's illustrous F1 career.