FORUMula1.com - F1 Forum

[przemo]

I think his problem is also inconsistency. He's been on the podium this season and has had some good results in the points, but he's also had some bad results. He still knows how to drive - remember his fastest lap and most recently his very good result in Q2 in Valencia, which shows that if he focuses he can put in a good lap even in qualifying (or maybe he just didn't hit any traffic ). His team's problem is that he doesn't score regularly, which probably is the effect of bad qualifying positions, which is often crucial to get a good result in the race. Kubica clearly gets more out of the car than Heidfeld, but it was the other way around in the previous season. Next season is a whole new game, maybe Nick would be again beating Kubi regularly.

[texasmr2]

His inconsistency stem's from other issue's which Nick, his team and us here are trying to decipher, inconsistency is the result of a larger problem but I dont believe it is the driver in this situation or atleast I hope not.

[Denthúl]

"Heidfeld, I think, has to take some of the blame as well for his current problems. A professional driver should be able to adapt to these kinds of issues a lot sooner "

See, just what I said, BMW should switch from NH to some other options.
Begining of season - He was two times around 5th in qual, later on around 10th (if in 3rd session) with one exception - Britain
The rest of pack adapt much quickier then him, especially Toyota and both Bulls drivers.
Still I think his problems are in line with tyres - during races, he was able 2 times to actually achieve best lap time, while during qual he is not threat for others at all.
Fair enough, sometimes he may be blocked by others but come on, we had 12 races so far - 3 qual up to 5th - rest far far away
Consistency - that how you can achieve something here.

Hi is just not good enough this year, I can hardly believe he will improve, but then who I am to tell

I think in any other car he'd be alright, but unfortunately for him he doesn't have any other car, he has the F1.08. Indeed, his race pace is as good as it should be, given the car, but because he has qualified low-down, he finds it hard to progress through the field. I think that it would be hard for BMW Sauber to do too much with the car to remedy this for him, seeing as they've already thrown pretty much every winglet under the sun on to it just to get it to run fast. I do hope that next year's car doesn't have the same characteristics, because Heidfeld is a very good driver and it would be a shame to see him replaced, though the only guy I can see replacing him at the moment is Alonso, unless Rosberg has an option to end his contract with Williams.

[scotty]

He's generally slower over a single lap than Kubica, which in turn means he usually doesn't out qualify him and therefore starts most races at a massive disadvantage - it's as simple as that i think. His race pace is decent enough though, he's very solid and doesn't tend to make many mistakes in race conditions. It'd be quite harsh if BMW sacked him, but that's the nature of the beast...

[McLaren Fan]

The rest of pack adapt much quickier then him, especially Toyota and both Bulls drivers.

That says a lot, given that Coulthard is most famous for not being able to adopt his driving style one iota.

Having thought a little about Heidfeld's case, I think he should be given another season at BMW. The regulation changes and that the cars will be using slicks could help him to get his qualifying performances into gear. Heidfeld is experienced and makes a good test driver which is important for a team with ambition like BMW. Also, he's maybe not quite as fast, so BMW shouldn't have to worry about driver wars like those seen in McLaren, and it could give Kubica a easier run at the drivers' title - if the car is fast enough next season. With Heidfeld, BMW would be sure to be on for good points race in, race out and if Kubica retired from the race for any reason, Heidfeld would be there to pick up possible race victories. Finally, Heidfeld is German, so that is good from a marketing point of view.

[Dardas]

The rest of pack adapt much quickier then him, especially Toyota and both Bulls drivers.

That says a lot, given that Coulthard is most famous for not being able to adopt his driving style one iota.

Having thought a little about Heidfeld's case, I think he should be given another season at BMW. The regulation changes and that the cars will be using slicks could help him to get his qualifying performances into gear. Heidfeld is experienced and makes a good test driver which is important for a team with ambition like BMW. Also, he's maybe not quite as fast, so BMW shouldn't have to worry about driver wars like those seen in McLaren, and it could give Kubica a easier run at the drivers' title - if the car is fast enough next season. With Heidfeld, BMW would be sure to be on for good points race in, race out and if Kubica retired from the race for any reason, Heidfeld would be there to pick up possible race victories. Finally, Heidfeld is German, so that is good from a marketing point of view.

You right with Coulthard but he is already on his way out plus he is quite old so I guess it's double trouble for him to adopt new things.
I'm not denying that NH is still fast, but his qual problems dosen't give him much room for race. Like every driver he had some ups and downs but age is not helping him for sure therefore at some point of his career the downside will take upper hand.

BMW need an experienced driver but then Alonso would do anyway
Given that he is agresive driver as well he should be able to challenge a few guys over there.

As for the staff with nationality, I never really belived that this would be a major fact for any team. At the end of the day would you prefer challenging driver from etiopia or average from your country as a team boss? Plus there is few more german in the pack.

Still it's all theory as we don't know (at least I don't) what is going to be with next year car, perhaps it will suit him better.
Don't get me wrong. I have nothing against him but I don't quite belive that he is going to be at the front anymore. Middle pack - yes, of course

[McLaren Fan]

Thiessen is a big fan of Alonso's, we all know what he can bring to a team and BMW look better prospects for success than Honda next season, so if BMW were to show some interest in Alonso, I'm sure he would be interested. Whether or not Alonso would be happy to go up against Kubica on equal terms, despite them getting on well, is another thing. Even if things were nice at the beginning, I would wonder if there's a chance that their friendship could break under the pressure of a title challenge.

[7UpJordan]

Thiessen is a big fan of Alonso's, we all know what he can bring to a team and BMW look better prospects for success than Honda next season, so if BMW were to show some interest in Alonso, I'm sure he would be interested. Whether or not Alonso would be happy to go up against Kubica on equal terms, despite them getting on well, is another thing. Even if things were nice at the beginning, I would wonder if there's a chance that their friendship could break under the pressure of a title challenge.

Hopefully Alonso will have learned from his time at McLaren that victories will not be handed to him on a plate all the time. There were some races last year where he showed he can keep his head down and beat his team-mate, Monza for example when he just went off into the distance unchallenged as he had managed to get his car set up just right to ride the kerbs.

[f1maniac95]

I think that Heidfeld can still do well imo its just the qualifying thats holding him back because if he qualifys bad that he has a disadvantage for the race and therefore is to far back to get a good result.