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Filed under: Motorsports, Hirings/Firings/Layoffs, Lotus, Renault

Nick Heidfeld

Filling the proverbial shoes of Robert Kubica is no easy task. The grand prix winner – one of only 102 in history – is the first Polish driver to make it in Formula One, and he is rated as one of the best in the business. Fill his space, though, is exactly what Renault has had to do after Kubica’s unfortunate crash in an Italian rally left him severely – if not critically – injured. But if anyone’s up to the task, it’s Nick Heidfeld.

The two were former teammates for several years at Sauber, and for his part, Heidfeld has finished more races than any other driver on or off the grid. He’s also become the de facto go-to guy for outfits who need an experienced driver to step in post-haste, having been selected by Pirelli to test their new F1 tires and then brought back to Sauber when Pedro de la Rosa wasn’t working out last season.

Having tested Heidfeld at its recent Jerez session, the Lotus Renault GP team has announced that they’ve selected the German driver to take Kubica’s place until he’s able to return to racing. Heidfeld’s selection wins out over Bruno Senna and Romain Grosjean, both of which also have race experience (albeit considerably less) and are contracted members of the team’s test-driver roster.

After stints at Prost, Sauber, Jordan and Williams – to say nothing of McLaren and Mercedes GP where he’s served as a test driver – Renault will make the fifth team for which Heidfeld will now have driven over the course of the eleven consecutive years he’s now been on the grid since his debut at the 2000 Australian Grand Prix. His best result to date was the fifth place finish he scored at Sauber in the 2007 Championship and his eight second-place grand prix finishes. Follow the jump for the official announcement.

[Source: Renault]

Continue reading Officially Official: Heidfeld to fill Kubica’s seat at Lotus Renault GP

Officially Official: Heidfeld to fill Kubica’s seat at Lotus Renault GP originally appeared on Autoblog on Wed, 16 Feb 2011 18:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Filed under: Motorsports, Hirings/Firings/Layoffs

Mid-season driver changes don’t happen often in Formula One, but they do happen occasionally. And the Sauber team – formerly owned by BMW – has done exactly that. After the bulk of a season of lackluster performance, the Swiss team has announced that it is removing Pedro de la Rosa from the cockpit for the grands prix left on the calendar.

In his place, Sauber has called Nick Heidfeld back up to the plate. Having spent seven seasons driving for Sauber in the past, scoring a dozen podiums along the way, Heidfeld is a known and proven talent at the team’s headquarters in Hinwil.

Despite his talents, the German driver failed to secure a race seat for the 2010 season, and was retained instead by Mercedes as a test driver. He was subsequently released from his contract with Mercedes when he was recruited by Pirelli to test its new tire compounds, but will likely have to give that up given his renewed ties to Sauber.

Heidfeld will be driving alongside Kamui Kobayashi, who despite having failed to finish more races than de la Rosa, has scored more than three times as many points. With 27 world championship points and five races to go, Sauber sits in 8th place out of 12 in the constructors’ championship standings, just ahead of Toro Rosso and the new teams. Will Heidfeld help the team turn around from the backmarkers they are now to the title contenders they were just a couple of seasons ago? Share your thoughts in the comments section below, or follow the jump for the team’s official announcement.

[Source: Sauber]

Continue reading Heidfeld in, de la Rosa out at Sauber F1

Heidfeld in, de la Rosa out at Sauber F1 originally appeared on Autoblog on Wed, 15 Sep 2010 18:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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