Lotus Renault GP has announced that Nick Heidfeld will take over the driving duties from the injured Robert Kubica, starting at this week’s test session in Barcelona. He will race alongside Vitaly Petrov.
“I would have liked to come back to Formula 1 in different circumstances, but I’m proud to have been given this chance,” said the 33-year-old German. “Everything has happened so quickly, but I’ve been very impressed by what I have seen so far in terms of the facilities and the dedication of the people at Enstone. I really enjoyed the test last week in Jerez and I’ve already settled in well with the guys at the track. I have a good feeling for the car, which is quite innovative. I’m extremely motivated and can’t wait for the season to begin.”
Heidfeld has started 172 races over the last 11 seasons. He has finished second on eight occasions.
joeblogsf1 
I’m glad Renault gave Nick the job, he certainly has what they need right now, and that’s just as true vice versa.
Good luck to them, and a speedy and full recovery to Robert, who is now hopefully done with his operations!
Seems like the best choice to me. I hope he does well.
Top decision by LRGP.
I hope that this can help rejuvinate Heidfeld’s career and help him land a decent drive next year.
Hurrah! F1 is sorely lacking in beards without him!
I’m pleased for Nick, obviously the circumstances are not ideal, but I really hope HE does well. I do suspect however that the Renault will not be race winning car (I’ve no evidence that, just a feeling), and much as I would like to see Nick finally get a chance with a car capable of winning races, I can not bring myself to support Renault one iota. Go Team Lotus!
Why do you still call them Lotus Renault? As many have said before me, I don’t recall you calling McLaren as Vodafone McLaren or Ferrari as Ferrari-Marlboro…
It just doesn’t make any sense. Lotus is a sponsor, just a sponsor nothing but a sponsor…
Mike Vlcek,
It is an interesting case, isn’t it? They are not Renault. It is the name of the car. Nor are they Lotus, but one cannot call them “The Team with No Name” and so one uses the only available option, which is the official name: Lotus Renault GP. Do you have a better suggestion?
Given that Heidfeld’s driving preferences are very different from those of Kubica, this decision indirectly confirms that Robert will be out till the end of the season.
Otherwise, this seems a very logical decision because Renault are under pressure to perform (Lotus sponsorship!) and have too much at stake to risk having two unexperienced drivers.
Hallelujah.
Congrats Nick and get well soon Rob.
I think this is actually the testing ban playing into nicks hands. In days gone past they could of evaluated a number of drivers in either the current test car or last years car. However with testing so curtailed they went with nick who they know is reliable and has perrilli (I’ve suddenly lost the ability to spell) miles too.
I am a tad confused why they then gave senna a run, rather than luizzi or de la rosa?? If they had no intention of running bruno.
Although I’m not a big fan of Heidfeld He was my number one candidate to replace Robert. His experience combined with his speed and ability to develop a car is the best all round package. Whether its really relevant or not but he has worked with Robert Kubica for two and a half years and knows how he ticks which may help him integrate into the team better, and I assume that when Kubica is well enough he will attend races in a advisory role and will be able to use that time together to work more efficiently for the team. Hopefully he lives up to his old name quick Nick and can deliver the results the car looks capable of.
This means only a HRT seat is available for Liuzzi, and he’s very silent these days which means he might have got a good severance deal from FIF1.
Neo,
It means nothing. Getting Mallya to pay anything is not the work of a moment.
I was really looking forward to Kubica being the cat among the pigeons this year. I now feel the same way about Nick. But more than that I hope Heikki and Jarno are close to the black car.
Good for Nick! Sensible decision.
Strange then that Robert apparently prefers Liuzzi.
Oh and it’s Renault in the official entry, not Lotus Renault.
rpaco,
The official entry is Lotus Renault GP. The car is called a Renault.
A very good choice. Heidfeld is an excellent driver.
Good choice by Renault..
I wish Robert a speedy recovery…
Joe
Was it just a rumour that Heidfeld could have had any seat in F1 because of his experience with the new Pirelli tyres.
Well done Nick. Good Luck!
Joe,
Off the topic but any idea who might get the second HTR seat? Will they be ready in time for the first race?
Pierre,
The person with the biggest cheque…
Good move. Heidfeld was clearly the best option for Renault and it gives him a chance to stay sharp and push for a seat next season.
It’s great news for Nick, but he’s on a hiding to nothing, in that if Petrov beats him he will be considered a failure, and if he wins the WDC, then it will be seen as Robert’s. Anyway, let’s hope he achieves to the car’s potential.
Is it true that Nick has only one GP contract with an option to prolongate?
Happy for him and Renault found a solid replacement. Hope things work out for all involved.
I wish Kubica a speedy, 20-race long recovery period. Go Quick Nick!
If he drives another two full seasons without a win, he will be the all-time record holder for most starts without a win!
It’s OK I guess. Nick has never set the world alight but maybe he can prove me wrong in the Renault if it is as fast as they hope it is. Good luck, Nick. Make Robert proud.
Happy for Nick as I think he is good enough to be in the show but can’t help thinking Renault should have at least given Liuzzi a day in the car for comparison. Must be something behind Tonio not getting a crack given Boulier mentioned him as a short listed driver a week ago!
The obvious became a fact.
Good work, Nick. Win one for Robert!
So much for Liuzzi…lol…Heidfeld is a total ‘journeyman’ but still they preferred him to Tonio…indycar/GT1 beckons me thinks….
Here’s hoping Nick finally gets that first win, and gets that HUGE monkey off his back as well.
themark
This monkey is a gorilla
Great news! Hope he does a Button.
I am interested to know if Heidfeld had to bring anything other than his driving ability to the table for this seat, or if at this stage of timeline and the predicament that ‘Renault Team Lotus Road Cars not Lotus Racing – Renault’ were in weather the pay drive concept just went out the window.
I hope he does well, but I’m not excited by the announcement, though. What’s the point in bringing someone who’s had his ass kicked by the guy he’s replacing? They could at least give some rookie a shot. Lightning could strike…
quell surprise
I think you mean “quelle surprise”…
Joe I guess you will be monitoring Quick Nick’s perfomance. I also hope that he can grab his first win
Let’s wish him a competitive season. I think that was the right choice, but time will tell.
I get the feeling that he knows that this is his last chance to deliver in F1
I hate to go against the trend but what a boring choice. Apart from a couple of flashes of brilliance while at BMW Heidfeld has had the air of a journeyman since he was passed over in favour of Raikkonen for the McLaren drive.
IMO they should have opted for Liuzzi, I think the boy could really shine given a half decent team (which “Loutus” Renault are descending into).
Glad Nick got it, never fully understood why he’s so underrated. I don’t think any of his fans are saying he’s at the Alonso/Vettel/Hamilton level, but he’s got quick one lap and race pace, can defend and is one of the best overtakers on the grid.
With the naming issue, when you look at the car from the side, I’m amazed that there is no Lotus branding on it at all. However, there is Lada branding, so from now on I plan on calling the cars Lada Renaults.
Good choice LRGP. I would have curled up in a ball if this job had gone to any of the other names being banded about.
I can see why they went for Nick, he is the solid safe pair of hands and therefore the sensible choice….but I wish they had taken a (small) risk and gone for Liuzzi in the hope of him realising his potential at last, or even taken a bigger gamble on Bruno. Oh well at least it leaves Tonio available when Ferrari sack Massa mid season!
P.S any news Joe, on Liuzzi’s settlement with the wretched Mallya?
TimW,
I have not heard anything.
Joe, on the naming issue, I beleive it’s quite simple, but I might be wrong, maybe I don’t have all the data and insight.
I suggest calling all the teams by their official constructor name. Then I beleive we have Williams, Mercedes, HRT, Renault… We all know what teams are behind this constructor names, and those names don’t change from year to year as sponsors change.
Because if you choose to use team names, it gets rather confusing, because we are not so much used to AT&T Williams, Mercedes GP Petronas F1 Team, HRT F1 Team, Lotus Renault GP… It’s your choice, but the worst thing in my opinion is a mix of team/constructor names, so to use team name for some teams, and constructor names for other teams. It also might not be a fair thing to mention the title sponsor of only one team all the time.
PeterR,
The car is a Renault in name only. Renault does not want to involved with these people. The car also has branding from Lotus and Lada…
All I am trying to do is to distinguish the teams in a sensible way. Would you have me calling it “the Team Formerly known as Renault” – TFR.
Sounds more like Tony Fernandes to me…
Joe, I do understand that, but as I see it, Renault knew very well that they are selling the team with the constructor name “Renault”, or they would get much less money for it (as it would be formally a new team etc.). So they agreed to new team using this constructor name in the future in exchange for some more money. So I see no problems with using their official constructor name. They could easily get rid of it if they wanted/needed to. 🙂
Back on topic, I wouldn’t be too surprised if during the season Heidfeld would be replaced or rotated with another driver. If Heidfeld is not in the battle for the championship, they can use more than one driver to get the maximum possible technical feedback for their new car and tyres (and maybe evaluate other drivers for the future). It also depends of course on Kubica and his recovery.
Joe, do you think that rotating drivers during the season (if you are not running for the championship) has more negative effects (like tensions in the team, drivers risk too much, engineers have difficulty to adapt the car to so many drivers, etc.), or could it bring more positive effects, like more “hidden” car abilities discovered etc.? I know other teams did try this in the past (at least to some degree), but probably with different reasons and objectives.
The team should be called as Danny-Lotus and the other one Tony-Lotus. matter solve…
About Nick, best option in current situation, though he is nothing more than a journeyman. But who knows if Renault have really struck gold in car design this year even Nick’s career will be redeemed.
After all Jenson Button, Mark Webber were nothing better than journey man, who got really longer stick than their talent deserved thanks to their PR Machinery which kept them in good books with those in decision making seats and look how their career turned corner after 2009…..
@Luiz Fernando
Bit of an inconvenient fact that while team mates with Robert Nick outscored Robert 150-137. At the “end of the season tally” Nick beat Robert twice out of three full seasons including the last time they were teammates!
[Heidfeld…monkey…back]
“This monkey is a gorilla”
King Kong’s big brother….
For when is the next aawj scheduled?
Maybe not the most exciting…………………………………..
Nick, who’d have thunk it huh?
Maybe the best of a bad bunch but I really think Nick’s had ample opportunity to prove himself and he’s never shone that brightly.
McLaren made the right choice with Kimi all those years ago and there is a reason Nick has been left on the shelf without a contract over the winter season several times now only to be picked up at the last minute.