Nick Heidfeld has thrown down the gauntlet to his rivals for 2009 by saying that he intends to fight for the world championship and not just his first race win. The German is in an optimistic and combative mood following BMW Sauber’s successful shakedown of their F1.09 at Valencia last month, and the Swiss-German squad are a serious bet for the drivers’ and constructors’ honours in the season to come.
Heidfeld, 31, is yet to win his first race despite having participated in 153 to date. He told German news agency GMM that “I don’t constantly think about clinching my maiden win.”
“After all, it’s my goal to win the title and not just a race,” he added.
Before that the German will have to beat his highly-regarded Polish team-mate Robert Kubica, who took his own first race win in Canada last season. Should the new car be as good as many suspect, Kubica would become the favourite of the two, despite Heidfeld’s strong performances in 2007.
