Gerard Lopez: Mixed emotions about Nick Heidfeld for criticism he is receiving – Formula 1 news
Renault co-owner Gerard Lopez has said that he has mixed emotions about the team driver Nick Heidfeld regarding the recent criticism he is receiving.
Lopez added that they expected a lot from him for the 2011 Formula 1 season, but he could not perform well for them in few races of the season and due to that the team is disappointed with him.
He admitted that they are satisfied with the German, as he joined the Enstone-based outfit during the winter testing in place of Renault’s injured driver Robert Kubica and took a positive start for them in the ongoing season.
The team’s co-owner stated, “I have mixed emotions about Nick in the light of criticism he has come under in recent weeks, we must recognize his invaluable contribution in the early part of the season. He helped us develop the car around the new exhaust
system which was not easy to understand.”
Apart from that, Lopez appreciated the 34-year-old driver, as he informed them to have a clear direction for development of the R31 car in the season so far.
The team driver was moving in the right direction before the last few races. In the Hungarian Grand Prix, his car caught fire and due to that, he had to retire from the race.
Other than Heidfeld, Lopez talked about the second driver of Renault. He stated that Vitaly Petrov is performing better in the ongoing season as compared to the 2010 F1 season.
The Renault co-owner went on to mention, “People were surprised by his good performances early in the season compared to last year. We were not surprised at all, as we have always believed in Vitaly’s capabilities since we the beginning and now people are
beginning to discover that we were right.”
The Russian driver was at the 12th place in the 2011 Budapest race. After struggling a lot for his best finish, he ended his Grand Prix ahead of Williams’ Ruben Barrichello, who came at the 13th position
in the final race classifications.
Let’s see how both of the drivers perform in the last eight rounds of the 2011 Formula 1 season after coming back from the summer break.
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