No secret that I’ve always had a soft spot for Nick Heidfeld. I’ve been asked to justify that notion many times and I really can’t. He is a guy I followed since his junior days and I was impressed with his F3000 performances. I have followed his career with interest—not world title-winning interest but mere human interest. I like the guy and he is a solid driver. He shares many of the qualities that I like in Jenson Button. Both solid, smooth and mistake-free. They also have a good feel for the car and can make some impressive drives out of what would otherwise be adversity.
Heidfeld says he’s talking to Renault but the French squad is looking for more than just skill—money in particular. Current driver Vitaly Petrov has the money, allegedly, but does he have the skill? That’s been the question leveled at him all year. Heidfeld has an opinion on that according to ITV:
“For next year obviously there are many seats already gone. I’m still in talks with various teams – also with Renault, as [team principal Eric] Boullier confirmed [in an interview].
“That would be the best opportunity but it’s far to say that it’s obvious that it’s not the only thing [that] they are looking for is talent, what you can give on the circuit.
“They have Vitaly in the car, who has strong arguments but looking at his performance on track this year we know what those arguments are.â€
What do you think? Is replacing Petrov the right thing for Renault? The question is, can Nick be a significant enough improvement in performance to garner Renault a higher spot in the Constructor’s Championship to off-set whatever Petrov is bringing? IS that even a real scenario? Keep in mind, they have Kubica, they’re not looking for a super star driver. It’s almost certain that Nick would be driving for peanuts at this point so what does Renault have to lose?
I’ve also argued that Nick would be a good addition at Team Joest Audi for Le Mans but he’s not ready to look there yet:
“I would only look for F1 at the moment,†he said.
“I’m 33 years [old] now. I think those other series could become interesting at a point, but not yet.â€
If he doesn’t have a ride next year, I bet those series will be a lot more attractive.
