By BMWF1Talk
December 18 2009

With today's news saying that Schumacher called di Montezemolo to let him know a very strong possibility of racing at MercedesGP, the fellow German driver Nick Heidfeld will lose its desired ride, and will be left with the Sauber and Renault alternatives. He has expressed in the past that Sauber is more likely, but we shall see how things evolve.

Should Schumacher finally fail to join Mercedes, or negotiations of Heidfeld with Sauber break, both scenarios being unlikely, the contenders for the Sauber seat are the Spaniard Pedro Martinez de la Rosa and the Italian Giancarlo Fisichella. From what we hear the Mclaren test driver has the upper hand.

It is said that both could bring financial support to the Swiss team, with De la Rosa being backed by bank giant Santander, with a sum around 5 million Euros, and Fisichella "easing" the Ferrari powertrain delivery -in terms of cost-.

Some sources already removed Heidfeld from the Sauber equation, but we are not so sure. Yes, Sauber won't be getting the sponsorship backing of Petronas, but with the Schumacher issue accelerating, Nick agreement could take place earlier, so Peter wouldn't run out of time -or patience-. Heidfeld is the highest regarded of the three among the team and management, we understand.Th question of money remains in the air, though.

We shall see...