Lotus Renault GP’s Gerard Lopez shocked after Nick Heidfeld reaction – Formula 1 news
Lotus Renault GP’s Gerard Lopez has recently stated that he is quite shocked after Nick Heidfeld’s reaction to the team decision as the team recently decided to replace him by Bruno Senna for the Belgian and upcoming Italian Grands Prix.
“I was surprised. I would say it is an emotional reaction. His performance was not right so we need to test other drivers. Nick has always been a good colleague but we told him that we had not from him what we had expected. He was always treated with
respect and that will continue, because he is still a member of the team,” he said.
Heidfeld recently lodged a legal suit against the team as their contractual obligations are leaning towards the German’s side regarding this matter as a result of which he has decided to deal with this matter legally.
“I was surprised by the team's intention to replace me and regret that things have developed this way. I just wanted to be in the cockpit to get the best result for the team and me. I still have a clear contract and I want to drive,” said Heidfeld.
One has to admit that the team was openly bullying the German driver as they recently released statements claiming that he was not up to the mark and that he has not been able to provide the team with a satisfactory performance despite the fact that
he was ahead of Vitaly Petrov until the Belgian Grand Prix.
Nevertheless, this matter is not as simple as it seems and the team did produce a very good car as a result of which they were expecting great results from at least Heidfeld since he is the more experienced driver.
The team wanted to improve its performance with the progression of the 2011 Formula 1 season and since they had a very strong start to this year, they were extremely disappointed later on as their performance deteriorated with each race. That is not
what the team wanted as they wanted to utilise Heidfeld’s experience at its utmost which they were unable to do.
Tags: