Nick Heidfeld: the driver debates
Nick Heidfeld is yet to score his first Grand Prix win
Nick Heidfeld out-scored team mate Robert Kubica at BMW in 2007 – but this year the tables have been turned: Kubica has out-qualified and often out-raced Heidfeld.
Should Heidfeld keep his seat at BMW for next year? Give your verdict on Nick Heidfeld below.
Nick Heidfeld was backed by McLaren and Mercedes in his junior career, but made his F1 debut with Prost before moving to Sauber.
Heidfeld’s fans often point out that he out-scored team mate Kimi Raikkonen at Sauber in 2001, but McLaren passed over Heidfeld in favour of Raikkonen. Heidfeld spent two more years at Sauber before being dropped and ending up at Jordan.
But his perseverance paid off and Williams tested him alongside Antonio Pizzonia to decide who would race for them in 2005. Heidfeld got the nod, and impressed by taking pole position at the Nurburgring and finishing second at Monaco.
As BMW chose to split from Williams at the end of the year to take over Sauber, Heidfeld was an obvious choice of driver for team boss Mario Theissen. Heidfeld easily had the beating of Jacques Villeneuve early in the season, but when new team mate Robert Kubica was drafted in halfway through the season Heidfeld had to up his game.
He out-scored Kubica through 2007 but this year his team has had the upper hand and scored BMW’s first win at Montreal, passing Heidfeld on the way. That must be galling for Heidfeld, who has now scored more second places without winning a race than any other driver in F1 history.
Heidfeld has had trouble getting the most out of his tyres in qualifying and his average starting position of 8.82 compares poorly with Kubica’s 4.45.
However he is within eight points of his team mate in the championship and is the only driver to finish every race this year. Should he keep his seat with the team for another year? And will he ever score that maiden win?
Nick Heidfeld has scored six second place finishes in his career - but no wins
Daniel said on 11th August 2008, 19:27
I think McLaren should repair its past injustice, get rid of Kovalainen and hire Heidfeld to partner Hamilton!
So, Heidfeld would finally get his maiden win and take over Barrichello’s unconfortable record “Longest wait until first win”…
Polak said on 11th August 2008, 21:25
Daniel: I got a feeling that McLaren will be happy with Kovi. Even if he doesn’t bring them wins he will be a great support driver for Lewis.
As for Heidfeld he has had some impressive drives this season, but he isn’t stacking up to his teammate. I think has has so far shown just enough to not get the boot.
Wesley said on 11th August 2008, 23:31
Well said Harkirat…(post #28)
Nick is a hard worker,has a smooth driving style,doesn’t whine too much and seems like a really nice guy…He is an underdog….these are the reasons he is my favorite driver.I do agree that he does NOT have that killer instinct.That is the reason I root for him to win that much more.I hope that he will retain his seat for another season or two.I only hope that when he does retire as a driver he can stay in F1 (BMW)…and help with developement.
Journeyer said on 12th August 2008, 1:35
“Who could have predicted Renault winning the title in `05?”
I kinda did, actually. :) I was guessing that if Ferrari weren’t gonna win that year, Renault would. I seemed to have more faith in their championship ability than BAR.
“And with KERS coming in next year, maybe he’ll be better off with Honda or Toyota… at least he won’t have to worry about his car setting the factory on fire or worse still, giving him an electric shock”
Ah, true. But let’s remember that BMW’s car wasn’t so quick at the start of this year, during pre-season tests. But they managed to sort it out and be even closer to the front than last year!
Gman said on 12th August 2008, 4:27
Some very good stuff here… In my humble opinion, this is probably the best of the driver debates to date!
Paige (Post #21) makes an outstanding point about some drivers- Damon Hill among them- not hititng their stride until later in their careers. For as great as it can be to see young guns like Hamilton and Alonso be sucessful at a very young age, I think we’ve been spoiled into thinking that if a driver dose not win big at a young age, he’s somewhat of a failure.
Nick isn’t getting any younger, but he’s far from an old man, and perhaps he’ll hit his stride in a big way next season. In the meantime, he’s an experienced driver who is a proven commodity in terms of bringing the car home in the points and provididng technical feedback, and that’s a driver that any team would appreciate having. If anyone thinks BMW can do better, who should they replace him with?
Rosberg, Piquet, Sutil, Bourdais, Davidson, Sato, Klein, Luizzi, Nakajima, Pantano, Grosjean, Di Grassi, Senna, even Heikki….dose anyone really think that any of thse guys is a sure-fire upgrade over Qick Nick? I’d be curious if anyone could offer a good argument for replacing him with one of the former/current/future F1 drivers listed above. Unless it was someone special like Alonso, BMW should stick with Nick for at least another season.
Gman said on 12th August 2008, 4:40
And there’s one more thing I love about Nick and BMW that’s important to note here.
As many of you know, I eagerly await the return of the USGP to the F1 schedule in the near future. With so much attention on new GPs in new markets, it can be discouraging to hear so little said from the teams and drivers about the current lack of a USGP. But Dr. Mario and BMW have been very vocal about their presence in America and the need for a race here, even coming to Las Vegas with their roadshow last off-season at the request of sponsor Intel. Other than Honda, I don’t see any other team standing up and voicing support for the American market in such a fashion.
And on the drivers side, Heildfeld was very vocal last season at Indy about the importance of a USGP to F1′s claim of being the “World Championship.” And now, in a recent interview with BMW’s web site, Nick was outspoken about seeing more GPs and lesss testing on the F1 schedule. While vociing support for the new races, he also expressed his disappointment at the lack of Indy and the USGP on the current scheudle. Finally, he said he was confident F1 could be back in the USA in the near future.
While I’m sure many teams and drivers feel the same way, nearly all others seem afraid to voice their opinions in such a manner. But here is a driver and team who aren’t afriad to stand up to Bernie and the establishment in expressing the importance of America to be included in the World Championship. Fight on Nick!!!
Paige said on 12th August 2008, 8:46
GMan,
among the drivers that you listed, I do think Kovi and Rosberg may possibly be upgrades over Heidfeld in terms of talent, but that is not to say that either driver should be brought in and Heidfeld kicked out. Heidfeld should stay anyways for reasons I’ve already stated. A third team in three years probably wouldn’t suit Kovi very well, but we already know that he’s going to be back with McLaren next year. (I predict he’ll be with McLaren for many, many years, unless there’s a serious falling out.) Rosberg has lots of speed and talent, but I’m starting to sense he’s quite distracted by all of the glitz associated with being a F1 driver, and the Williams really isn’t developing all that well with him on board. He will need to have a better car, though, to show his worth, and he is still only 23.
Paige said on 12th August 2008, 8:53
I just thought of this today…
There’s a pretty good indication from weeks ago that was given by BMW that Heidfeld will be back next year. He tested the 2009 specifications and slick tires at Jerez a few weeks ago.
http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/69528
Why have one of your race drivers out testing next year’s specifications if you’re not going to bring him back? Why not have one of your test drivers doing it? And if your intention is to promote one of your test drivers to the race drive next year (i.e., Klien), why not have him doing it?
koper said on 12th August 2008, 16:23
Paige,
As far as I know it was Klien who was testing KERS – he didn’t test too much as we know one of the engineers got electric shock.
If Heidfeld is good in car development why not to use him – doesn’t matter if he races next year or not.
I hope he will race, but in my opinion it is too early to indicate from testing whether team alredy decided Heidfeld’s future.
Polak said on 13th August 2008, 22:24
Today F1-Live reported more rumors about Alonso being the best pick for BMW.
It was actually more of an opinion by former German driver Hans-Joachim Stuck. Here is what he said:
“It’s nothing against Nick, but unlike Kubica he is not a driver who can win a World Championship”
“If you can secure an Alonso for the long term, then you must”
Paige said on 14th August 2008, 3:45
Koper,
I didn’t say that Heidfeld tested KERS. I said that he tested the car with 2009 specifications, which also include the downforce package and slick tires.
You don’t throw a driver in a test for next year’s car with dramatic changes in the specifications if you don’t intend to keep him, if for no other reason than that he will have data on what you are planning for the next year and will be able to take it to whatever competitor he joins.