The shoot out between Nick Heidfeld and Bruno Senna to replace the injured Robert Kubica at Renault was billed as a potential thriller; team principal Eric Boullier’s repeated claims that the team needed an experienced driver in the team put paid to that. Heidfeld, who has competed in 172 Grand Prix, epitomised Boullier’s thought process. Furthermore, ‘Quick Nick’ is not only a veteran in F1 but also a very fast and wily racer; twelve podium finishes, despite not always driving the most competitive of cars, is certainly an undervalued achievement. To further endorse his credentials, his audition behind the wheel of the Renault on Saturday was impeccable; he set the fastest time of the day in Jerez with a lap of 1:20.361, 0.132 seconds quicker than Ferrari’s Fernando Alonso. Within two hours of the start of his test, he had already bettered his possible team mate Vitaly Petrov’s fastest time by 0.6 seconds. It is worth mentioning that Petrov had spent the first days of the Jerez test in the car. In my view, it seems highly improbable that the 33 year old German will be denied his 11th season in F1.
So what does Heidfeld bring to the table? Well, as I have already touched upon, a huge wealth of experience having driven for Prost, Sauber (including BMW), Jordan and Williams throughout his career. He had been out of a drive over the winter having left testing roles at Mercedes and Pirelli to take up a brief race seat at Sauber at the end of last season, so would therefore not cost Lotus-Renault a penny in compensation. In addition, Heidfeld will once again return with something to prove and more determined than ever to secure a first Grand Prix win; he has already acquired the somewhat unwanted record for most starts without a victory. That elusive first win could possibly be achieved this season and the early indications of winter testing suggest that Renault could well be in the mix for victories this season (Kubica topped the timesheets on the final day in Valencia before Heidfeld’s superb effort on Saturday).
There will undoubtedly be more than a more hint of irony if he replaces Kubica. The Pole’s untimely and horrific accident has possibly left a potentially race winning car in the hands of his former BMW team-mate. How is that ironic? Well, you may recall a certain Canadian Grand Prix in 2008. After the bizarre accident in the pit lane between Lewis Hamilton and Kimi Raikkonen following a safety car period, Heidfeld had been leading the race and was on a one stop strategy. He retained his advantage over Kubica following his only pit stop but, being the reliable team player, allowed his two stopping team mate to overtake so not to ruin his race. Unfortunately for Heidfeld, Kubica’s blistering pace thereafter allowed him to rejoin in front after his second pit stop, thus securing his first victory. It is a result that undeniably still rankles with him. However, in somewhat unexpected circumstances, Kubica’s horrifying accident has inadvertently opened the door for his Heidfeld to illustrate he was not merely a number two driver at BMW. Heidfeld certainly deserves to stand on the top step of the podium although it would be more than a quirk of fate if he achieved it in Kubica’s car.
Should he be given the drive, Heidfeld’s presence at Renault will be crucial in terms of setting up and developing the car. Fine tuning the characteristics of the R31 to give them the best possible chance of launching an assault on both championships will be vital and with important rule changes implemented for this year, an experienced driver is a necessity at this stage. Although entering his second season with the Renault team, it has clearly been deemed by the powers that be that Petrov will not get the best out of the set up, which in turn ruled out the possibility of Senna being promoted into a race seat. Heidfeld, however, will willingly shoulder the burden of correcting the set up of Renault’s latest challenger. Who knows, if he comprehensibly outperforms the young Russian, just as Kubica did the previous year, he may even keep the seat on a permanent basis. Whatever happens however, Nick Heidfeld fully deserves a place on the F1 grid. Although whether it will be with the Renault team remains to be seen.
PS. After conflicting reports over the weekend, Renault have said Kubica’s condition remains ‘good’ and he is due to have a final operation on Wednesday to repair his remaining injuries. Surgeons have repaired his hand and on Friday they operated on fractures in his right arm and leg. The remaining surgery is to repair his injured elbow. Kubica will stay in intensive care until his final operation. Let’s keep our fingers crossed.
Josh.
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