It’s confirmed – 33 year old German Nick Heidfeld will be filling in the driver’s seat for injured Robert Kubica, and his first official duties will begin this weekend at the test session in Barcelona. Heidfeld has 172 races under his belt so far, and when the first race in Bahrain rolls along, it will be Heidfeld and Vitaly Petrov piloting the new R31 racers on the grid.
“I would have liked to come back to Formula 1 in different circumstances, but I’m proud to have been given this chance. 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 can’t wait for the season to begin,” said Heidfeld in a press statement today.
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I wonder when Fauzy will get a chance
Fauzy still has a long way to go. The Germans & Finnish started racing at a very young age & their skills & nerve are much more refined compared to Malaysian drivers. It was really an obvious choice to take in Quick Nick as Robert’s replacement.
fairuz only for PR purposes during SEPANG GP
after that he’ll be slowly forgotten
he will get his chance if he can prove himself on the GP2 series…right now Grosjean seems to be way ahead of him…
it was way too obvious…a choice that makes so much sence on so many levels and frankly there was no competition…good luck buddy!
yes! Nick Heidfeld is come back. Nick the cool man…
Nick Heidfeld overtaking moves.. Lotus Renault GP for 2011 F1 championship!!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_VLdPDo6mP4
nick is awesome but hey, how about kubica? is this permanent for this entire season?
Happy for Nick but this episode has revealed the true value of reserve drivers these days. From what I understand, LRGP has quite a few reserves – Romain Grosjean, Bruno Senna, Ho Pin Tung and Fairuz Fauzy. And from that list only Grosjean and Senna have been talked about. Fairuz seems to be last in priority.
The reality is though NONE of the 4 are right for the job at hand and so the team is forced to rope in Quick Nick. So being a ‘reserve driver’ these days seems nothing more than a PR stunt.
Currently in GP2 Asia, Grosjean is doing well, while Fairuz seems to be trailing way at the back and getting into altercations. Interesting to watch also are the two Malaysian backed GP2 teams – Team Air Asia and Lotus ART. The former finished very strong in the last race despite being only 4 months old while the latter, a traditional favourite in GP2 naturally finished near the top. Interesting to watch. Can’t say the same for Fairuz Fauzy.