Nick Heidfeld
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Nick Heidfeld (born May 10, 1977 in Mönchengladbach, Germany) is a formula one race car driver for the BMW Sauber formula one team. Prior to his stint with BMW Sauber, Heidfeld has had tour of duties with several teams, including McLaren, Prost, Sauber, Jordan, and Williams.
He began his racing career as early as 1988, when he was only 11. Like most other racers, he started out in go-karts then later moved on to cars where he was quite a success, winning plenty of races most notably bagging the German Formula Ford title in 1994.
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Personal Life
Nick is the second child of Wolfgang and Angelika Heidfeld. His younger brother Sven is also into racing. When he was a kid, he and his brother received motorbike gifts under the Christmas tree but after some hard falls about a year later, he eventually gave up riding the vehicle. Nick later on showed interest in karting but his parents were a bit reluctant on letting him race because he was "too small" then. His father eventually took him karting, once even beating his dad because he was "just too slow" after his first lap.
Nick lives in Stafa, Switzerland with his girlfriend Patricia, daughter Juni (born July 2005) and son Joda (born July 2007). The German racer is also nicknamed "Quick Nick."
Career
Early Career
In 1988, Heidfeld was already racing karts "professionally." After gaining significant racing experience, he moved into car racing in 1994 via Formula Ford 1600 and was quite impressive, winning eight of the nine races he competed in to win the title. The following year, he won the German International Formula Ford 1800 Championship and was runner up in the Zetec Cup. His success gave him the opportunity to race in the German International Formula 3 championship in 1996, finishing third after winning three races in his first season. In 1997, he claimed a win at the prestigious Monaco event and went on to bag the German Formula 3 championship. That year, Heidfeld began testing with the McLaren Mercedes team, an opportunity he received from the German car manufacturer. In 1998, he competed in the European Formula 3000 Championship with the West Junior Team (a McLaren subsidiary) where he won three races but only ended with a runner-up finish after losing his pole position in the final race with a team error on the fuel. Heidfeld, who continued to test for the McLaren team that year, was forced to start at the back of the grid during that final race, eventually losing the championship to Juan-Pablo Montoya. In 1999, Heidfeld remained as a test driver for McLaren while also continuing to compete in the Formula 3000. That year, he won four races and bagged the International Formula 3000 Championship while also holding the official track record at the Goodwood Festival of Speed, which he took in 1999. He also was part of the Mercedes team at Le Mans but his stint was halted after the cars' withdrawal due to their tendency to flip.
Prost (2000)
After an impressive F3000 stint where he won seven races in two seasons, Heidfeld was in strong consideration to drive for the McLaren Formula One team. Unfortunately, the team's spots were already filled with two time World Champion Mika Hakkinen and David Coulthard. McLaren however continued to show interest in Heidfeld and wanted him to gain F1 experience, convincing former driver Alain Prost to acquire his services for his team, Prost Grand Prix. Heidfeld eventually signed with Prost and was paired with Prost's former Ferrari teammate, veteran Jean Alesi. It was however a disastrous debut for Heidfeld and his team, as his car was slow and the Peugeot engines were unreliable, leading to a string of retirements and ended with a pointless season. He manage to finish only 5 of 17 races and even came to blows with Alesi on more than one occassion. He then left Prost by season's end.
Sauber (2001)
Despite a dismal maiden year, Heidfeld was able to impress Sauber officials, inking a three-year deal with the team for 2001 and was teammates with rookie driver Kimi Räikkönen. In his debut, he finished eighth in the drivers' championship with 12 points and earned his first podium in only his third race. Sauber finished fourth that season after Räikkönen contributed 9 points.
Sauber (2002)
Mika Hakkinen announced his retirement at the end of 2001 season, leading to speculations of Heidfeld's formal entry to the McLaren team. But his dream of joining the elite racing squad wasn't mean to happen as Ron Dennis of McLaren Mercedes instead chose Heidfeld's teammate Räikkönen to fill in the vacancy. Heidfeld stayed on with Sauber for 2002 and became the team leader opposite rookie teammate Felipe Massa. The two combined for 11 points, with Heidfeld outscoring another youthful teammate, 7-4.
Sauber (2003)
In his third year at Sauber, Heidfeld employed a more aggressive racing strategy in hopes of improving his chances at the drivers' championship. But his efforts would instead make him more error-prone, pushing him to 14th place (6 points) with veteran teammate Heinz-Harald Frentzen outperforming him. Peter Sauber was unimpressed with Heidfeld's performance, eventually firing Heidfeld at the end of 2003.
Jordan (2004)
Heidfeld tried out with the Jordan Grand Prix team and after some tests, was able to secure a spot with the team with rookie Giorgio Pantano as his teammate. The team as a whole struggled, including Heidfeld who was able to score only three points in 18 races for a dismal 18th place finish in the drivers' championship.
Williams (2005)
In the winter of 2004-05, Heidfeld tested with the Williams team and competed with the team's long time Brazilian reserve driver Antônio Pizzonia for the right to pair up with Australian driver Mark Webber. To the delight of Heidfeld, and the disappointment of Pizzonia, the German car manufacturer powered by BMW would give the slot to Heidfeld. He turned out several impressive runs during his debut at Williams, placing third in Malaysia and finished second in Monaco. He also earned his first pole position at the Nürburgring circuit and recorded his second straight 2nd place finish of the season. After a testing accident, Heidfeld was forced to sit out the [[[2005 Italian Grand Prix|Italian]] and Belgian Grands Prix. Another accident would eventually put him out of action for the rest of the year, ending his season just behind 10th place Webber's 36 points with 28 points of his own for an 11th place.
BMW Sauber (2006)
BMW took Heidfeld with them after they bought the Sauber team and started out as a full manufacturer team in 2006. He was signed for what was believed to be a 2-year contract (with an option for a third in 2008) and was paired up with Jacques Villeneuve. Heidfeld started slow in his first few races with BMW Sauber, ending up in 12th spot in Bahrain and getting retired in Malaysia. He was however able to bounce back in the Australian Grand Prix, holding on to the second place before getting relegated to fourth by race's end after the safety car came out. In the next few races, he fell to 13th spot at San Marino and 10th at the 2006 European Grand Prix before making his way back within the top 10 with an 8th place finish in Spain and 7th place finishes in Monaco, Great Britain, and Canada. At the 2006 United States Grand Prix, Heidfeld was forced to retire after getting involved in a first lap accident that put his car, for the first time, on a triple barrel roll. No drivers were hurt in the accident, which also involved Scott Speed, Kimi Räikkönen and Juan Pablo Montoya. Heidfeld finally gave the team its first podium and the best finish that year after placing 3rd in the Hungarian Grand Prix. He ended that season 9th on the drivers' championship with 23 points.
BMW Sauber (2007)
Heidfeld remained with BMW Sauber with Polish driver Robert Kubica who replaced Villeneuve the previous season. He began the year with three straight 4th place finishes, including a strong showing in Bahrain where he overtook reigning champion Fernando Alonso and finished the race half a minute ahead of teammate Kubica. Although he was retired in Spain and finished only 6th in Monaco, he was able to outqualify both Ferraris and equal his best Formula One finish with a second placing in Canada. He was retired for the second time in Indianapolis then finished 5th in France, 6th in Great Britain, and another 6th in his home circuit at the Nürburgring where he was able to recover from an earlier collision with Kubica and race through six pitstops. At the Hungarian Grand Prix, Heidfeld secured his team's second podium of the season after qualifying second and finishing third. After that, Heidfeld could only finish as high as fourth, both in Turkey and Italy and ended the year with a 6th place finish in Brazil.
His second tour of duty with BMW Sauber ended with a career best 5th place finish in the drivers' championship. He also outscored Kubica by 22 points, finishing with 61 which is another single season best. During that season, Heidfeld also made history by becoming the first driver to drive an F1 car around the the Nürburgring's legendary 14 mile Nordschleife track. Heidfeld drove 3 demonstration laps in front of approximately 45,000 spectators after a 4 hour VLN endurance race.
Another distinction that Heidfeld has, which he may not want to keep, is being the lone driver among the current crop who has had the most starts without a win. He will have the chance to "break the spell" in 2008 as BMW has confirmed Heidfeld's spot on the team for the 2008 Formula One season.
Results and Records
Career Summary
Complete Formula One Results
| Year | Entrant | Chassis | Engine | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | WDC | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | Gauloises Prost Peugeot | Prost AP03 | Peugeot A20 3.0 V10 | AUS 9 | BRA Ret | SMR Ret | GBR Ret | ESP 16 | EUR DSQ DNS | MON 8 | CAN Ret | FRA 12 | AUT Ret | GER 12 | HUN Ret | BEL Ret | ITA Ret | USA 9 | JPN Ret | MAL Ret | - | 0 | ||
| 2001 | Sauber Petronas | Sauber C20 | Petronas 01A 3.0 V10 | AUS 4 | MAL Ret | BRA 3 | SMR 7 | ESP 6 | AUT 9 | MON Ret | CAN Ret | EUR Ret | FRA 6 | GBR 6 | GER Ret | HUN 6 | BEL Ret | ITA 11 | USA 6 | JPN 9 | 8th | 12 | ||
| 2002 | Sauber Petronas | Sauber C21 | Petronas 02A 3.0 V10 | AUS Ret | MAL 5 | BRA Ret | SMR 10 | ESP 4 | AUT Ret | MON 8 | CAN 12 | EUR 7 | GBR 6 | FRA 7 | GER 6 | HUN 9 | BEL 10 | ITA 10 | USA 9 | JPN 7 | 10th | 7 | ||
| 2003 | Sauber Petronas | Sauber C22 | Petronas 03A 3.0 V10 | AUS Ret | MAL 8 | BRA Ret | SMR 10 | ESP 10 | AUT Ret | MON 11 | CAN Ret | EUR 8 | FRA 13 | GBR 17 | GER 10 | HUN 9 | ITA 9 | USA 5 | JPN 9 | 14th | 6 | |||
| 2004 | Benson & Hedges Jordan Ford | Jordan EJ14 | Ford RS2 3.0 V10 | AUS Ret | MAL Ret | BHR 15 | SMR Ret | ESP Ret | MON 7 | EUR 10 | CAN 8 | USA Ret | FRA 16 | GBR 15 | GER Ret | HUN 12 | BEL 11 | ITA 14 | CHN 13 | JPN 13 | BRA Ret | 18th | 3 | |
| 2005 | BMW Williams F1 | Williams FW27 | BMW P84/5 3.0 V10 | AUS Ret | MAL 3 | BHR Ret | SMR 6 | ESP 10 | MON 2 | EUR 2 | CAN Ret | USA DNS | FRA 14 | GBR 12 | GER 11 | HUN 6 | TUR Ret | ITA | BEL | BRA | JPN | CHN | 11th | 28 |
| 2006 | BMW Sauber F1 | BMW Sauber F1.06 | BMW P86 2.4 V8 | BHR 12 | MAL Ret | AUS 4 | SMR 13 | EUR 10 | ESP 8 | MON 7 | GBR 7 | CAN 7 | USA Ret | FRA 8 | GER Ret | HUN 3 | TUR 14 | ITA 8 | CHN 7 | JPN 8 | BRA Ret | 9th | 23 | |
| 2007 | BMW Sauber F1 | BMW Sauber F1.07 | BMW P86/7 2.4 V8 | AUS 4 | MAL 4 | BHR 4 | ESP Ret | MON 6 | CAN 2 | USA Ret | FRA 5 | GBR 6 | EUR 6 | HUN 3 | TUR 4 | ITA 4 | BEL 5 | JPN 14 | CHN 7 | BRA 6 | 5th | 61 | ||
| 2008 | BMW Sauber F1 | BMW Sauber F1.08 | BMW P86/8 2.4 V8 | AUS | MAL | BHR | ESP | TUR | MON | CAN | FRA | GBR | GER | HUN | EUR | BEL | ITA | SIN | JPN | CHN | BRA |
References
- Nick Heidfeld Formula 1 Database
- Nick Heidfeld GrandPrix.com
- Nick Heidfeld Wikipedia
- Nick Heidfeld: A Solid Racer Who Brings in the Points
- Williams give Heidfeld his chance
