2011 end of term report – Nick Heidfeld

At the start of the year, Nick Heidfeld looked set to be absent from this year’s championship. The experienced German was without a drive but received a late-minute call from LRGP to replace the badly-injured Robert Kubica.

Heidfeld couldn’t miss such an opportunity and contested 11 Grand Prix for the team. He was released shortly before the Belgium Grand Prix and was replaced by Bruno Senna for the rest of the season.

Season review

Nick Heidfeld was busy during the winter, trying to secure a drive for the 2011 World Championship. However, he still had no seat in February… until LRGP asked him to replace Robert Kubica – who was badly injured in a rally crash in Italy.

The team considered the German as the perfect replacement for the Pole, given his huge experience in F1. The Enstone-based outfit expected him to lead the team while Vitaly Petrov continued to gather experience in the series.

In Australia, Heidfeld’s qualifying session was spoiled by his fellow teammate Michael Schumacher and he started the race in 18th position. He made up a few places but couldn’t make it in the top ten… while his teammate was on the podium. Things were much different in Malaysia, where Heidfeld qualified sixth and raced to third place.

The following races were a bit more difficult for the LRGP driver. He was given a hard time by Petrov in qualifying but usually fared well in the races. He scored points in Turkey, Spain and Monaco. In Canada, he damaged his front wing and crashed out of the race. He was back in the points at Valencia and Silverstone.

He collided with Buemi in Germany. Tensions with Eric Boullier then arose and the team announced Bruno Senna would be driving in Hungary’s Friday practice in place of Heidfeld. The German took over for the rest of the weekend and qualified in 14th position. His race ended in flames as his car caught fire on the exit of the pitlane after a pitstop.

Disappointed by Heidfeld’s performances, Boullier decided to get rid of him a few days before the Belgium Grand Prix. He replaced him with Bruno Senna. However, Heidfeld argued he had a valid contract and threatened to sue the team. Both parties eventually settled the matter and Heidfeld officially left LRGP.

Conclusion

Nick Heidfeld tackled the season full of enthusiasm. The car was pretty competitive at first but lost pace race after race. The German proved a bit weak in qualifying compared to his less experienced teammate. However, in the races, Heidfeld proved his reputation right with some strong performances, but was not the leader LRGP expected.

Despite missing the last races of the season, he finished 11th in the final standings.

His career now appears to be over, after 12 seasons and 183 Grand Prix starts. He might compete in the DTM next season.

Highs
—  Podium in Malaysia
—  11th in the standings (contested only 11 Grand Prix)
—  Drove some strong races

Lows
—  Struggled against Petrov in qualifying
—  Failed to inspire the team
—  Crashed in Canada

Nextgen-Auto.com marks :
— Olivier Ferret : 7/20
— D.Thys : 13/20
— Sandrine Bouchard : 13/20
— Jean-Michel Setbon : 10/20
— Average mark on the forum Nextgen-Auto.com : 11/20
—  Total : 54/100