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Nick Heidfeld first gained widespread attention in 1994 when he won the German Formula Ford Championship with 8 wins from 9 races. The young German was 2nd in the semi-finals of the Formula Ford Festival at Brands Hatch but was forced to drop out following an accident.
In 1995 he won the German International Formula Ford 1800 Championship and second place in the Zetec Cup. In 1996 Nick contested the German International F3 Championship, finishing third, despite taking three wins. Late in the year he finished sixth at Macau.
A year later and Nick won the German F3 Championship in addition to winning the prestigious Monaco F3 event. He then stepped up to European F3000 finishing runner-up in 1998 with three wins, he was also appointed official test driver at McLaren-Mercedes.
In 1999 having won the International Formula 3000 Championship, Nick was snapped up by Prost for the 2000 season.
Driving alongside Jean Alesi, Nick struggled to get to grips with a difficult car, and after a string of retirements it was no surprise when the German left Prost at the end of his debut season, moving to Sauber for 2001.
Heidfeld's fortunes improved dramatically with the Swiss team. Given a competitive car he demonstrated the skills that many within the F1 paddock had been raving about, and along with rookie team mate Kimi Raikkonen, Nick helped Sauber to its most successful season to date, scoring twelve points along the way.
Although frustrated by Raikkonen's departure to McLaren, feeling that the team should have called on him to replace Hakkinen, Nick decided to show the Woking team what they were missing out on. The German gave a number of gritty performances, particularly in Spain where he finished a magnificent fourth.
Sadly, as has often been the case with Sauber, they didn't keep developing the C21 hence the team was unable to build on the success of 2001. In Austria Nick was lucky to survive a horrific clash with Takuma Sato, while the German also played a part in the first-corner incident in Melbourne.
Alongside Heinz-Harald Frentzen for 2003, Nick failed to convince. The former F3000 Champion out-qualified his older team-mate 9-7, but on the whole it was Frentzen who dominated, and indeed claimed the team's first podium (Indianapolis) since Brazil 2001. Frentzen's reward was to be dumped, along with Nick, for 2004, the decision being made public just hours after the Indianapolis triumph.
For a while it appeared that Nick's F1 career could be over, at least for 2004, and then, following a couple of successful tests, it was announced that the young German had secured a seat with Jordan, where he would be joined by Italian hot-shot, and another proven F3000 winner, Giorgio Pantano.
Nick was one of the true stars of 2004, not that many of us got to see it.
Away from the TV cameras, the German was giving some great performances, wringing everything out of the EJ14 and the Ford Cosworth.
Three points - two in Monaco, one in Canada - don't tell anything like the full story. Despite the limitations, Nick gave his all, giving performances that flattered the package given to him.
A few years back it seemed that Nick had the world at his feet, and looked certain to take his place at McLaren-Mercedes. That it never happened, is hard to understand, certainly the German appeared to have the right credentials.
To his credit, Nick never gave up, constantly giving strong performances in cars that didn't deserve him.
At the end of 2004 it looked bleak, and another young hopeful looked destined to move on from F1 having never had the opportunity to show his true potential. However, Frank Williams and Patrick Head had spotted that potential and consequently Nick was offered the opportunity to join one of the most famous teams in F1.
Throughout the winter, Nick took part in a series of 'shoot outs' with Antonio Pizzonia, the 'prize' being a race seat alongside Mark Webber in 2005. Although the German was consistently quicker, the Brazilian was well known to the team.
On January 31st, just moments before the launch of the FW27, WilliamsF1's 2005 contender, 'Quick Nick' was told by Frank Williams that he had the job, and would partner Mark Webber, at long last, the German, and his many fans, felt that he would have the opportunity to prove himself.
Sadly, the FW27 did not live up to expectations, a situation not helped by the fact that BMW was clearly looking to set up its own team, as the 'marriage' with WilliamsF1 fell apart. After the debacle of the 'hammerhead' in 2004, it was thought that things couldn't get any worse aerodynamically, but they did. A 'problem' with the new windtunnel, together with a number of departures meant that the team struggled for much of the season.
For the most part, Nick gave a good account of himself, though his pole position at the Nurburgring, had more to do with (light) fuel load than a major leap forward in performance by the driver, chassis or engine. That said, he drove a strong race - at a time when the FW27 appeared to be showing signs of improvement, to take second place. Only two weeks earlier, the German had driven a superb race, as did his teammate, to take second - the best finish of his F1 career - at Monaco.
The truth is however, that despite the limitations of the WilliamsF1 BMW package, Heidfeld was rarely able to qualify well, making things all that more difficult for him on Sunday afternoon.
Following the double triumph in the Monaco and Europe events it was 'slim pickings' for the German, who picked up a further 3 points in Hungary.
Then came a heavy crash during testing at Monza in August, and what at first appeared to be a short-term lay-off, was to keep him out of the second WilliamsF1 car for the remainder of the season. He took part in the free practice sessions for the Italian Grand Prix, but subsequently withdrew from the race, complaining of a "strong headache"
Having missed the Belgian Grand Prix, the hapless German suffered another injury when he fell from his bicycle, cracking his shoulder blade and dislocating several fingers. Thankfully, this didn't prevent him signing for the all-new BMW F1 team just a few days later.
BMW suffered two recurrent problems in the early stages of its maiden season as an F1 manufacturer in its own right, engine vibration, which led to failures in Bahrain, Malaysia, Australia and Spain, and tyres, the F1.06 working better with the harder compounds than with the soft.
However, the German team kept its head down and by mid-season, following a surprise fourth in Melbourne, Nick was scoring points on a regular basis. Like several others, the German enjoyed a somewhat lucky result in Hungary, but that shouldn't take anything away from a strong performance.
In qualifying, in the early stages of the season, he was regularly upstaged by Villeneuve, who was also giving a good account of himself in the races. That said, Nick appeared to have the situation under control.
However, the arrival of Polish hot-shot Robert Kubica, following the dumping of Villeneuve, was a serious wake-up call for the German, such was the youngster's pace. His third at Monza, his third outing for the team, matched Nick's best result for the German outfit, helping it to take fifth in the Constructors' Championship.
Having been retained by BMW for 2007 it was clear that not only would Nick have to contend with Kubica, who was gaining confidence with every outing, but also face the prospect of another exciting German prospect being groomed by the Bavarian manufacturer, Sebastian Vettel.
Nick rose to the occasion, and it is no fluke that he made it into the Top 5 in Alan Henry's selection of the best drivers of 2007 for Autocourse.
It was soon clear that after McLaren and Ferrari, BMW was the best of the rest, and likewise, behind Alonso, Hamilton, Raikkonen and Massa, Heidfeld was the best of the rest. We knew the speed was there, but in 2007 it was Heidfeld's consistency that really came into play, scoring points in all but three races.
While his teammate Robert Kubica also had pace, and similar consistency, it was Nick's qualifying performances that really set him apart. The German, unlike the Ferrari and McLaren drivers, never qualified lower than ninth, and consequently by season end he had accumulated 61 points, finishing fifth in the Drivers' Championship, his best season since 2001.
The highlight of a fine season had to be Hungary, where Nick kept Alonso well and truly in check. The Spaniard had been penalized following the qualifying debacle, however, come the race he made quick work of some of the drivers ahead of him, but not 'Quick Nick' who held his ground. Try as he might, the Spaniard was unable to best the German who played hard but fair throughout.
At long last we appear to be seeing the very best of Heidfeld, who, in BMW, has found himself the ideal team to bring his talent to the fore. In 2007 he scored 61 points, which compares well with the 79 he had scored in the seven previous seasons.
Providing BMW continues to provide him with the equipment, there is no reason why Nick should not further establish himself in 2008, and possibly take the next step, his first Grand Prix win.
Statistics - Prior to 2008 Season
Drivers' Titles: 0
Seasons in F1: 8
Grand Prix: 132
Wins: 0
Points: 140
Poles: 1
Fastest Laps: 0
Best result in 2007: 2nd (Canada)
Best qualifying 2007: 2nd (Hungary)
Worst qualifying 2007: 9th (Britain)
Average grid position 2007: 5.47
2007: Out-qualified Robert Kubica 11 times
2007: Out-qualified Sebastian Vettel 1 time
2007: Out-qualified by Robert Kubica 5 times
2007: Out-qualified by Sebastian Vettel 0 times
2007: Completed 1025 out of 1065 laps (96.24%)
2007: Finished 15 times from 17 starts (88%)
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