Nick Lars Heidfeld (; born 10 May 1977) is a German former racing driver, who competed in Formula One from to .
Born and raised in Mönchengladbach, Heidfeld began competitive kart racing aged 11. He progressed to Formula Ford in 1994, winning multiple national championships before graduating to Formula Three. After finishing third in 1996, Heidfeld won the German Formula Three Championship the following year, also winning the Monaco F3 Grand Prix. He then finished runner-up to Juan Pablo Montoya in International F3000, before winning the series in 1999. A test driver for McLaren since , Heidfeld signed for Prost in to partner Jean Alesi, making his Formula One debut at the . After a non-classified championship finish for Prost with the AP03, Heidfeld moved to Sauber in , finishing fourth on debut and taking his maiden podium at the as he outscored rookie teammate Kimi Räikkönen.
Heidfeld remained at Sauber for two further seasons before moving to Jordan in , where he scored multiple points finishes in the relatively uncompetitive EJ14. He signed for Williams in , scoring several podiums amongst his maiden pole position at the . Following a string of high-profile injuries, Heidfeld left Williams to re-join Sauber—now known as BMW Sauber—in . He scored eight podiums across four seasons with BMW Sauber, finishing a career-best fifth in the World Drivers' Championship in . BMW withdrew from the sport at the end of the season, leaving Heidfeld without a seat. He replaced Pedro de la Rosa at Sauber from the 2010 Singapore Grand Prix onwards, and joined Renault for his campaign to substitute for an injured Robert Kubica. Heidfeld took his final podium in Malaysia before he was replaced by Bruno Senna after the . Heidfeld departed Formula One with one pole position, two fastest laps and 13 podiums, the latter of which remains the record without winning a Grand Prix.
Heidfeld moved to Formula E for its inaugural 2014–15 season with Venturi, achieving his first podium at the Moscow ePrix before joining Mahindra in 2015. Over three seasons with Mahindra, Heidfeld scored seven further podiums before leaving at the end of 2017–18. Outside of formula racing, Heidfeld has entered six editions of the 24 Hours of Le Mans, winning the LMP1-L class in and finishing fourth overall twice. He competed in five seasons of the FIA World Endurance Championship from 2012 to 2016 with Rebellion, and finished runner-up in the American Le Mans Series in 2013. Heidfeld served as chairman of the Grand Prix Drivers' Association in 2010.
Early life and career
Heidfeld was born in Mönchengladbach, West Germany on 10 May 1977, and began racing karts at the age of 11 in 1988. In 1994, he moved into the German Formula Ford series, gaining widespread attention by winning eight of the nine races to take the title that season. In 1995, he won the German International Formula Ford 1800 Championship, and came second in the Zetec Cup. This led to a drive in the German Formula Three Championship for 1996, where he finished third overall, after taking three wins. He entered the end of the season Macau Grand Prix and won the first heat of the race, attracting the attention of compatriot Norbert Haug, who later signed him up for the West Competition team.
Junior career The following year, Heidfeld won the German F3 Championship for Bertram Schäfer Racing, with support from McLaren/West, including a win at the Monaco Grand Prix Formula Three support race. In 1998, he won three races and was runner-up in the International Formula 3000 championship, with the West Competition team. At the final race of the season, he was demoted to the back of the grid from pole position, after his team used non-compliant fuel.Henry, Alan (ed.) (1998) Autocourse 1998–1999 Room at the top – F3000 review p. 248 Hazleton publishing He finished the race ninth and out of the points, losing the championship by seven points to Juan Pablo Montoya. During that season, he was also the official test driver for the McLaren-Mercedes Formula One team. In 1999, he won the International Formula 3000 Championship. That year he also took the official track record at the Goodwood Festival of Speed which stood for 20 years. He was also a member of the Mercedes squad that raced at the 1999 24 Hours of Le Mans,Mercedes-Benz CLR for Le Mans Presented but the team withdrew after the Mercedes-Benz CLR flipped 3 separate times during the race weekend.
Formula One career
Prost (2000)
Heidfeld was signed as a race driver for the Prost Grand Prix F1 team for the 2000 season, alongside Formula One veteran Jean Alesi. Heidfeld struggled with his new car and suffered a string of retirements, as well as colliding with his teammate on more than one occasion.
Sauber (2001–2003) Heidfeld departed the ill-fated Prost at the end of that season, before signing a three-year contract with Sauber for 2001. He was partnered with then rookie driver Kimi Räikkönen. Heidfeld scored his first podium with a third-place finish in the Brazilian Grand Prix. After the announcement of Mika Häkkinen's retirement, many thought that Heidfeld would replace him in the McLaren-Mercedes team, as he had Mercedes backing and had outscored the much more inexperienced Räikkönen by three points over the year. However, the McLaren seat went to Räikkönen, and Heidfeld stayed with Sauber for 2002 and 2003, where he racked up a number of points finishes. In 2002, he outperformed another rookie teammate, Felipe Massa, but was then beaten by his more experienced fellow countryman, Heinz-Harald Frentzen, in 2003.
Jordan (2004)
At the end of the 2003 season, Heidfeld was replaced at the Sauber team by Jordan's Giancarlo Fisichella and looked to be without a race seat for the 2004 season. However, after impressing during a series of preseason tests, it was announced that Heidfeld would race with the financially strapped Jordan team, alongside rookie Giorgio Pantano. The EJ14 was an upgrade of the previous season's uncompetitive EJ13 and proved slow. Despite this, Heidfeld often outperformed the car, finishing ahead of more competitive vehicles. He finished seventh at the Monaco Grand Prix and eighth at the Canadian Grand Prix (after the disqualifications of Williams and Toyota teams) and finished the season with three points.
Williams (2005)
During the winter of 2004–2005, Heidfeld tested with the Williams team, in a 'shootout' against Antônio Pizzonia for the second race seat alongside Mark Webber. At the Williams launch on 31 January 2005, it was announced that Heidfeld would be the race driver for the team in 2005, replacing the McLaren-bound Juan Pablo Montoya.
Heidfeld performed well throughout the season, with podium finishes at three races. He took his first, and only, pole position at the European Grand Prix.
Heidfeld missed the Italian and Belgian Grands Prix due to injuries suffered in a testing accident. Scheduled to come back for Brazil, he was injured again when hit by a motorbike when out cycling, and therefore forced to sit out the rest of the season.
BMW Sauber (2006–2009)
2006 Heidfeld gained a contract with his then Williams' engine supplier, BMW, when they bought the Sauber team and entered Formula One as BMW Sauber for the 2006 season, replacing Felipe Massa who was bound for Ferrari and thus Nick Heidfeld returned to Hinwil-based squad for the first time since season but under BMW ownership.
During 2006, Heidfeld scored points several times for his new team. At Melbourne, he ran as high as second until the safety car came out. He eventually finished fourth. At Indianapolis, he was eliminated in a spectacular first lap accident which saw fellow drivers Scott Speed, Jenson Button, Kimi Räikkönen and Juan Pablo Montoya also go out. Heidfeld's car was launched into a quadruple barrel roll, but he and the other drivers all walked away unharmed. The Hungarian Grand Prix saw Heidfeld give BMW Sauber their first podium finish and best result of the year, when he finished third, even though he had only qualified tenth on the grid.
At the end of 2006, Heidfeld was quoted attacking the media's saturation coverage of his teammate Robert Kubica, who had scored fewer points than him. This has happened two other times in Heidfeld's career; in 2001 when he was teammates with Kimi Räikkönen (whom he beat twelve points to nine) and in 2002, when he was teammates with Felipe Massa (whom he beat by seven points to four). Räikkönen and Massa later formed the 2007 Ferrari driver line-up.
2007
Heidfeld started the 2007 season strongly. In Bahrain, he chased down and overtook reigning world champion Fernando Alonso around the outside, finishing half a minute ahead of his BMW teammate Kubica. He scored three fourth places in the opening three races, a sixth in Monaco, and a second place at the Canadian Grand Prix, where he also out-qualified both Ferraris, equalling his best ever Grand Prix finish. After retiring from fifth place at Indianapolis, he was outscored by teammate Kubica at both Magny-Cours and Silverstone. At an eventful European Grand Prix at the Nürburgring, Heidfeld's home circuit, where he collided with Kubica on the opening lap, he recovered and overtook Kubica on the final lap to finish sixth, despite making six pitstops during the race. Heidfeld returned to form in Hungary, qualifying second and finishing third to score his and BMW's second podium of the season. He finished fourth at the Turkish and Italian Grand Prix, and fifth in the Belgian Grand Prix. He eventually finished a career-best fifth in the championship with 61 points, outpointing Kubica by 22 points.
On 28 April 2007, Heidfeld drove three demonstration laps around the Nürburgring's legendary 14 mile Nordschleife track, which made him the first driver in 31 years to pilot a current F1 car there. About 45,000 spectators attended the event, which was held after a four-hour VLN endurance race.
2008
After several months of negotiations, BMW confirmed that Heidfeld would stay with the team for .
Heidfeld began the 2008 season strongly, finishing second in Australia after qualifying fifth. In Malaysia, he qualified fifth but dropped down to tenth at the first corner after being pushed wide by Jarno Trulli. He got back up to sixth, also setting his first ever fastest lap in the process. In Bahrain he started from sixth place but he did not gain a place at the start, but passed Trulli and Heikki Kovalainen to climb up to fourth. He finished there and this fourth gave him second in the championship.