Nick Heidfeld: Replacing Robert Kubica required some ‘intensive soul searching’ – Formula 1 news
Lotus Renault GP’s Nick Heidfeld recently stated that the team had to do some ‘intensive soul searching’ in order to look for an appropriate replacement for Robert Kubica.
It was revealed this past week that Heidfeld is going to replace the Pole for the 2011 Formula 1 season after his performance at the 2nd pre-season test session that took place in Jerez.
Kubica went through a horrific accident a couple of weeks ago during a rally event. Robert almost lost his right hand as a result but thanks to his doctors, it is believed that he might recover fully and possibly return to the sport for the 2012 Formula
1 season.
Nevertheless, Renault team boss Eric Boullier stated that the team would welcome Robert Kubica whenever he decides to return to the sport. Robert was without a doubt a very talented driver and one has to admit that he could have been a potential competitor
for the drivers’ title this year since his team produced a pretty good car.
“I did some intensive soul searching - probably more intensive than most others would have done - and now I would say that I have cleared the situation for myself,” he said.
Other than that, he added that it was not his fault what happened to Robert. He stated that he took advantage of this opportunity and one cannot blame him for it. One has to admit that Heidfeld is probably the best option for the team at the moment as they
need an experienced and quick driver by their side.
“Probably after Robert's fastest time in Valencia and mine in Jerez the expectations were a bit too high. It is still difficult to say where everybody is, but my guess is that there are still some teams ahead of us - especially Red Bull. But it is a good
basis to build on,” Nick told the media.
He also stated that he did not join the team thinking that he would be given more preference over his teammate Vitaly Petrov but he vowed that he will try his best to score better points than the Russian though.
It is going to be interesting to see how he performs at the upcoming pre-season test sessions and the fans will be looking forward to his performance at the first race of the season in Australia with Lotus Renault GP impatiently.
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