By NickHeidfeld.com
November 10 2009

After the disappointment of the opening race in Australia, the Malaysian GP represented the first highlight of the year for me. It was an exciting race, and if I'd changed my wet-weather tyres for intermediates at the right moment, it would have turned out even better for me. It was a race that I could have won. Having said that though, it's always difficult to know when 'the right moment' is.

Unfortunately, there weren't any more highlights for rather a long sequence of races and we fell right back behind the other teams. Then, during the summer break, we were hit by the bombshell of BMW's withdrawal from Formula One. After Honda pulled out of F1 and the global downturn dragged on, there were more and more rumours about other constructors, so I was always trying to find out what the situation was with my own team. But whenever I enquired, I was assured that we would be carrying on racing. When the phone call came, I could scarcely believe it. It took a while for the reality to sink in. My reaction will have been fairly typical, especially because all the members of the team were on holiday and the factory was closed. Everyone had to wait a couple of weeks without knowing or being able to ask what the future held. That was a bad time.

Obviously, I couldn't agree with the reasoning behind the decision. I'm a professional racing driver and therefore see everything in term of motorsport. As an automotive manufacturer, however, it probabsly makes sense to focus more on sustainability and eco-friendliness. In times of economic crisis, a large company has to respond accordingly. So clearly there were many factors to take into account. But all the same, it's such a tremendous pity. BMW set out to win the Formula One title and I think we could have achieved that goal. Now I'm keeping my fingers crossed that Sauber get a place on the grid in 2010.

In sporting terms, we started to catch up the rest of the pack after the summer break. The Belgian GP was good for us as regards race pace, but not when I look at my own result. It was a mistake to start on the harder compound tyres; otherwise, I could have been up on the podium. In retrospect, Monza was a disappointment. I was fast all weekend but had engine damage in Q2. Although I finished seventh and scored a couple of points, it could and should have been a lot better.

In Singapore, we had a major update with quite a few new parts. I had to start from the pit lane and then Sutil drove into me. That was my first retirement in ages. Before that, I had seen the chequered flag in 33 successive races and qualified as a finisher in 41. In Japan, we had a problem with one of our pit stops: a wheel nut jammed, which cost me two places. Then, in Brazil, everything went wrong. All the same, though, we were clearly on an upwards trend which culminated in my P5 finish in Abu Dhabi.

Looking back on my whole career, 2008 was the worst year, which is really annoying because we clearly had the best car. I'm not dissatisfied with my performance in 2009, as I feel that I generally got the maximum out of the car I was given. But when you're battling for victories and podiums, people look only at the statistics – in the media at least. Fortunately, the people who run the teams can see beyond that. So all in all, I'm quite optimistic about the future.

Yours,

Nick

Article at: http://www.nickheidfeld.com/?1104A0A1A8110

Nick Heidfeld's 2009 season in retrospective - Part 2

Discussion started by BMW Sauber F1 (IP Logged), 10/11/2009 18:06

BMW Sauber F1
10/11/2009 18:06

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barteks
11/11/2009 16:23

Quote:

people look only at the statistics – in the media at least. Fortunately, the people who run the teams can see beyond that.

Oh dear.... And who says that?

2008 Prediction Champion

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sessions
11/11/2009 16:53

The only problem is that statistics may be fuzzy, but point gathering brings money to the teams and money talks in F1. They (F1), don't care who's image is more stellar, it's only the drivers and managers because they too want more money themselves.
The opinion of fans is really way down in the pecking order of things.
Look at Kimi, his income has peaked and there's the possibility he may ride the sidelines if he doesn't give in on money demands.
F1's bottom line is money. In fact our world has the same problem. GREED and MONEY ! No ?

sessions

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