Nick Heidfeld will not back down from Formula 1 in 2011
Nick Heidfeld’s manager seems quite confident that his driver will be racing in the Formula 1 next season despite the fact that he will not be part of Team Sauber and is going to be replaced by rookie driver Sergio Perez in 2011.
The German driver will race for the remaining four races of the season according to his contract to replace Pedro de la Rosa. Heidfeld raced at the Singapore GP for the first time this season and was hoping that he might get a contract with the team for
2011 as a full-driver as well. However, Perez recently signed with the team and will bring the Telmex sponsorship to the team next year to secure his seat alongside Kamui Kobayashi.
Nick’s manager Andre Theuerzeit insists that talks are in progress with other teams regarding Heidfeld’s signing and that he was not aware of any progress regarding Perez’s signing.
“There are still cockpits available in Formula One for next season. At the moment we are in negotiations and we are confident there will be a positive outcome,” claimed Theuerzeit.
The most desirable seat still up for grabs is with team Renault. Team Principal Eric Boullier has stated that Heidfeld’s recent role with Pirelli gives him an edge over the rest of the drivers.
“That Nick Heidfeld should be first choice? Because he sits on important information and would without doubt give them to his new team? I think that Pirelli will inform all the teams in due course,” claimed Boullier on F1's official website.
Heidfeld is not looking too impressive though after his return as he was not able to qualify in a decent position and did not finish the race after retiring after two collisions in a single race. That is something one cannot expect from a driver with so
much experience in Formula 1. Nick cannot talk his way out of this either and that is the main reason why he has been so quiet. He stated before the Singapore GP that the team still had his seat from last year and they did not have to work as much as they
expected. Since they had his seat from last year, he is in no explanation to talk his way out of it.
On top of that, it is not as if Heidfeld did not drive a Formula 1 car since years. One might agree with Michael’s explanations but Heidfeld was testing with Mercedes GP this year and he ran some tests for Pirelli as well. Nick will have to take it up a
notch if he wants to stay in the Formula 1 circuit. He was not able to give a decent performance at the Marina Bay. The German driver stated that he is hoping to drive in the next season as a full time driver but that would not be possible if he does not drive
up to the pace of the rest of the drivers.
Besides Heidfeld, GP2 driver Giedo van der Garde is also confident of securing a seat for the 2011 season.
“There are concrete offers from two teams. We have received one contract we could sign immediately. But for that we need partners,” claimed van der Garde's manager Jan Paul ten Hoopen He added that van der Garde is not aiming for HRT, as it is not one of
the teams running for van der Garde. He is hoping that they should be able to finalize a deal before the finale at Abu Dhabi.
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