BMW Sauber F1 Team - Interview with Nick Heidfeld

"I want to keep heading in the same direction".

Munich/Hinwil, 10th July 2008. BMW Sauber F1 Team driver Nick Heidfeld has
turned his season around, emerging from a recent barren spell just in time for
his home race, the German Grand Prix at the Hockenheimring on 20th July.

You’ve earned a lot of praise for your second place and pair of double
overtaking moves in the rain of Silverstone. How did you pull off such a great
performance?

BMW Sauber F1 Team driver Nick Heidfeld: “It was just brilliant. Qualifying
finally went well again, and in the race everything slotted into place. The
team did everything right and I also avoided making any mistakes. It’s always
satisfying when passing moves come off; winning a head-to-head battle fair and
square is as good as it gets. And if you can overtake two other guys in the
same move twice in the same race, the thrill is that much greater. Especially
as it was a Ferrari and a McLaren I got past on one of those occasions.”

A lot of people complain that overtaking is impossible in Formula One. You
provide regular evidence to the contrary – under the toughest conditions as
well. How do you decide whether to dive into a gap? Are you braver than other
drivers?

Heidfeld: “I actually find overtaking easiest in tricky conditions. The
differences between the individual drivers are just greater in the rain. Plus,
different drivers take different lines through the corners, which naturally
helps with overtaking.”

You referred to your problems in qualifying. Are they now behind you?

Heidfeld: “What is certain is that our work has paid off. The team has given me
tremendous support. We conducted a complicated analysis of the situation and
took measures to enable me to make better use of the tyres for a single hot
lap. As an outsider it’s tempting to think that all it takes to get the tyres
up to optimum temperature is a couple of burnouts. But that only heats up the
contact area of the rear tyres. It is a complex issue, and the Barcelona test
in June already produced a degree of progress. We undid some of the good work
with our poor performance overall at Magny-Cours, but for me it was important
to see that I was back up to the same level as my team-mate in the second
period of qualifying. That was the case again at Silverstone. However, we will
not be easing off now; I’m sure that there is a lot more we can do to further
improve my performance in qualifying.”

Have you feared for your place in the team over recent weeks?

Heidfeld: “No, that would have been the wrong way to approach the situation. I
was concerned about my qualifying performance. But I also knew that I hadn’t
suddenly forgotten how to drive a car and that my race speed was still good.
The critical thing for me is to get the tyres up to temperature in qualifying.”

Why do you perform so well in the wet?

Heidfeld: “I used to enjoy racing in the rain in my karting days, and then in
the various classes up from there as well. The car slides and reacts totally
differently, and you have to do everything with much greater sensitivity –
steering, braking, accelerating. Getting to grips with all of these factors is
so much fun. However, if you are not in the lead there is another aspect of
racing in the rain that makes things rather unpredictable: the lack of
visibility. We sit so low to the ground and the Formula One cars whip up so
much water that you can hardly see a thing in the spray – neither the pools of
water nor the other cars. You really can’t compare it with driving on the road.”

How did your two days of testing go at Hockenheim?

Heidfeld: “We were fortunate that the weather turned out to be better than
forecast, which meant I was able to complete more laps than I was expecting in
the dry. We tested a few new aerodynamic and mechanical components at
Hockenheim, both for the German Grand Prix specifically and looking further
ahead. That was our priority during the test; the plan was in no way to set the
fastest possible lap times. As I cannot judge what kind of programme the other
teams were running, the lap times from the test do not tell us all that much.
However, I would have liked more time to work out an ideal set-up for the race
at Hockenheim.”

What is your plan for the German Grand Prix?

Heidfeld: “Clearly, it gives me an extra push to go into my home GP on the back
of a podium finish in the last race. I want to keep heading in the same
direction – get a good position on the grid and do as well as possible in the
race itself. I’m really looking forward to what is BMW’s home grand prix as
well as mine personally. Plus, Hockenheim always attracts a particularly large
number of fans from Switzerland as well, and I’m determined to put on a great
performance for them.”