F1 Fanatic

I should add, I am here because I want to be enlightened, I feel as though I am missing something! I just dont think he is that great. Solid, yes. dependable, probably. experienced, certainly. But rapid? or really impressively fast? Not so sure…

He’s also a fantastic racer who uses his head and has pulled off some great overtakes in his time. He’s also very good at reading a race – lots of his podiums have come during races that have tricky or changeable conditions.

He doesn’t have the raw pace or excitement factor of someone like Kubica, Hamilton or Vettel, but he’s an accomplished driver in his own way.

The beard is good too. Wonder if he holds the record for most bearded podiums…

Do we? There’s a difference between liking him, as most of us do, and rating him highly.

I suppose it depends what you mean by highly. You’ll not find many people who will see him as one of the Top 3 or 4 drivers in the sport. But, I think a lot of us will consider him worthy of a place in F1, and as one of the best drivers never to win a GP.

I rank Heidfeld as about as good a driver as David Coulthard, but without any of his luck. With the right break, it could’ve been Heidfeld driving for McLaren, taking occasional wins and podiums without ever looking like winning the title. But, in reality, DC overachieved with 13 wins, and Heidfeld has underachieved with a big fat 0. That just doesn’t seem fair.

Oh, and I like the beard too

He did kinda get screwed out of his place at McLaren. He was one of their young drivers, and I think he should have had a shot in an MP4 at some point after Mika Hakkinen retired, but Kimi jumped him, as did Montoya.

But yeah, like Ned says, he’s one of those drivers who’s been around, driven many different cars at either end of the grid, and finished in just about every position going, aside from the most important one, with which he’s just never had any luck. Which is a shame, because he’s a consistent, competent, clever driver. And he can be quick.

Icthyes I think you sum it up pretty well :)

He’s never shown himself to be below average (in the context of F1) in any way on track, he’s beaten some seriously good team mates and he’s a guaranteed points harvester if his car is reasonable. So close yet so far, for so long, he certainly gets support as an underdog (which at the same time is why some like to write him off).

For me though its his understated nature. He’s so quiet and lacking in flamboyance that many just don’t notice him; but its also what marks him out from many other drivers on the grid and, in particular, its what makes me like him.

Because he has compared quite favourably against various illustrious teammates who are considered quick.

http://f1-facts.com/statistics/team-mates/NHeidfeld

Well comparison with your team mates is the only REAL barometer of a drivers pace!! It is the only time you can compare drivers in F1 in equal machinery, so his performances against Raikkonen, Massa, Kubica etc. who have all gone on to win races are particularly relevant.

A lot of people rate him highly purely on the fact that he has the most points without a race win. That in itself is not a negative record – he’s a good racer and brings the car home frequently. He’s only had one teammate who scored a victory and that was in a race that arguably Heidfeld should have won.

Icthyes sums it up perfectly.

More to the point – why do the teams rate him so lowly?