| Nick Heidfeld | ||
|---|---|---|
| ||
| Driver Details | ||
| Nationality |  German
| |
| P.O.B. | Mönchengladbach, West Germany
| |
| D.O.B. | 10 May 1977[1] | |
| Début |  2014 Beijing ePrix
| |
| Final Race |  2018 New York City E-Prix II
| |
| Titles | 0 | |
| Teams |  Venturi Formula E Team Mahindra Racing
| |
| Formula E Career | ||
| Total Entries | 44 (44 Starts) | |
| Wins | Points | FanBoosts |
| 0 | 214 | 8 |
| Poles | 0 | |
| Fastest Laps | 1 | |
| Podiums | 8 | |
Nick Lars Heidfeld, born 10 May 1977, is a German racing driver, whom competed in the 2017/18 ABB FIA Formula E Championship for Mahindra Racing.[1] A driver famed for his lack of luck during his time in Formula One, Heidfeld would endure a similar barren run during his time in FE, despite coming within one corner of winning the inaugural 2014 Beijing ePrix.[2]
Heidfeld became a constant presence in Formula E after his switch to Mahindra in 2015/16, the German getting re-signed for both the 2016/17 and 2017/18 seasons.[3] For the latter two seasons, the German would be partnered by rising star Felix Rosenqvist, getting resoundingly beaten by the Swede in both of their campaign's together.
Heidfeld would ultimately decide to step away from full-time racing at the end of the 2017/18 season, becoming Mahindra's test and reserve driver for the 2018/19 campaign instead.[4]
Background[]
Heidfeld first started karting at the age of eight, before entering (and winning) the German Formula Ford championship of 1995.[1] After taking the German Formula Three and Formula 3000 championships in 1999 (and competing in the Le Mans 24 Hours), Heidfeld secured a drive in Formula One with Prost.[1] After a season with Prost, Heidfeld joined Sauber , staying there for three seasons.[1] A single year with Williams followed, before he rejoined Sauber (then BMW Sauber) in 2006, remaining with them until mid-2010.[1]
A single season with Lotus-Renault in 2011 saw Heidfeld leave Formula One, switching to the World Endurance Championsip in 2012.[1] Most recently, Heidfeld has raced for Rebellion Racing in the 24 Hours of Le Mans.[1]
Formula E History[]
Heidfeld was announced as the Venturi Formula E Team's lead driver in June 2014, citing his reason for entering the championship as he believed it would be the future of motorsport.[1] Heidfeld was partnered by Stéphane Sarrazin in the team, with Heidfeld almost winning the 2014 Beijing ePrix, only for his accident with Nicolas Prost at the final corner.[1][2] Heidfeld was then disqualified from the 2014 Putrajaya ePrix, before being excluded from qualifying in the 2015 Miami ePrix, both instances costing him valuable points.[5]
Heidfeld was also penalised while leading the 2015 Buenos Aires ePrix, but finally saw his luck turn in Berlin, taking fourth on the grid, before finishing fifth, having led his home race.[6] This form followed him into Moscow, where the German earned his first podium, before his problems returned for the season finale.[7] His season ended with Heidfeld pushing his car down the pitlane after an issue during the final race of the season, the 2015 London ePrix II, leaving him in twelfth place in the Championship.[8]
2015: Mahindra Motive[]
Heidfeld switched to Mahindra Racing for season two alongside fellow former Lotus F1 driver Bruno Senna.[9] After taking Mahindra's first podium at the season opening 2015 Beijing ePrix, Heidfeld injured his hand at the following 2015 Putrajaya ePrix, requiring surgery as a result.[10] Oliver Rowland replaced him at the 2015 Punta del Este ePrix after the surgery meant he would have to miss the third race of the season.[11]
Fortunately, the German would be fighting fit for the following round in Bueno Aires, with Heidfeld starting a scoring run that would last until the end of the season.[12] A fourth place at the 2016 Long Beach ePrix would be the highlight of the scoring run, although Heidfeld would set fastest lap at the 2016 Paris ePrix after missing out on the point scoring positions.[13] Come seasons end, and in spite of a late flurry for teammate Senna, Heidfeld would complete the year in tenth place, beating his Brazilian colleague by a single point.
Indian Endeavours[]
Heidfeld would be retained by Mahindra at the end of the season, although the team opted to partner him with Felix Rosenqvist for the 2016/17 season.[14] The German would get the better of his less experienced Swedish teammate at the 2016 Donington Test, with Heidfeld threatening the top times throughout. This form carried over into the first race of the season in 2016 Hong Kong ePrix, with Heidfeld claiming his first podium of the season.[15]
However, the balance in Mahindra was soon to shift, with Heidfeld only claiming two points at the following rounds, while Rosenqvist claimed a maiden podium to move ahead of him on points.[16] Heidfeld responded brilliantly with three third places in a row as the series entered Europe, although this feat was trounced when Rosenqvist claimed the team's first victory in the 2017 Berlin ePrix I.[17]
From that point on it would be Rosenqvist who got the best out of the car, although the two would stand on the podium together again at the second New York ePrix.[18] Heidfeld would retire from the following race in Montreal, before ending the season with a fifth place finish in the second of the Montreal weekend's races. Those results would ultimately leave the German 49 points behind his rookie teammate come season's end.
A Veteran's Vengeance?[]
Despite the fact that Heidfeld had been trounced by teammate Rosenqvist in the closing stages of the previous season, Mahindra Racing decided to re-sign the pair for 2017/18.[3] The German racer would go on to make a strong start to the season in Hong Kong fighting his way onto the podium ahead of Nelson Piquet Jr.[19] Unfortunately for him, his form would not carry over into the second race of the weekend, with the German missing out on points, while teammate Rosenqvist inherited victory to claim a full point score.[20]
Heidfeld then picked up a seventh place in Marrakech, although it was Rosenqvist whom came out on top as the Swede once again claimed victory.[21] The German's season then went sour, with three retirements in the next three races, including two mechanical failures.[22] Another two non-scores followed in Rome and Paris, with Heidfeld's pace hampered by picking up damage early on in both battles.[23]
The German racer would return to the points in his home race in Berlin, ending the afternoon in tenth after fighting in the points for the whole race.[24] A sixth place finish in Zürich, a result he matched in the first New York City E-Prix with a last minute move on André Lotterer.[25] The German racer then engaged in a four way fight with teammate Rosenqvist and the two Jaguars in the final race, but ultimately ended up at the back of quartet.[26]
At the end of the season Heidfeld revealed his intentions to look elsewhere for 2018/19, with no guarantee that he would stay in FE as a driver at all.[27] The German racer duly decided to step away from full time racing ahead of the fifth FE campaign, although he would remain at Mahindra as their test and reserve driver.[4]
Full Formula E Record[]
Shown below are a series of tables outlining Nick Heidfeld's career in Formula E in statistical form.
Formula E Entries[]
The list below includes all of the teams and cars, as well as overall finishing positions for Nick Heidfeld during their FE career:
| Nick Heidfeld's Overall Formula E Record | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Entrant | No. | Car | Pos. | Pts. |
| 2014/15 | Venturi Formula E Team
|
23 | Spark-Renault SRT_01E | 12th | 31 |
| 2015/16 | Mahindra Racing
|
23 | Mahindra M2Electro | 10th | 53 |
| 2016/17 | Mahindra Racing
|
23 | Mahindra M3Electro | 7th | 88 |
| 2017/18 | Mahindra Racing[3]
|
23 | Mahindra M4Electro | 11th | 42 |
Career Results[]
Below is a table showing Nick Heidfeld's full Formula E record.
| FIA Formula E Championship Record | ||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Rounds | Pos. | Pts. | |||||||||||
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | |||
| 2014/15 | 
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
12th | 31 | |
| 13th | DSQ | 10th | 8th | 12th | 11th | 10th | 5th | 3rd | 13th | Ret | ||||
| 2015/16 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
10th | 53 | |
| 3rd | 9th | INJ | 7th | 8th | 4th | 12th | 7th | CAN | 8th | 7th | ||||
| 2016/17 | 
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
7th | 88 |
| 3rd | 9th | 15th | 12th | 3rd | 3rd | 3rd | 10th | Ret | 3rd | Ret | 5th | |||
| 2017/18 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
11th | 42 |
| 3rd | 16th | 7th | Ret | Ret | Ret | 16th | 11th | 10th | 6th | 6th | 8th | |||
| Results Key | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Symbol | Meaning | Symbol | Meaning | |
| 1st | Winner | Ret | Retired | |
| 2nd | Second | DSQ | Disqualified | |
| 3rd | Third | DNS | Did Not Start | |
| 7th | Points Finish | 16th | Non-Points Finish | |
| NC | Not Classified | CAN | Race Cancelled | |
| INJ | Driver Injured | Italics | Fastest Lap | |
| Bold | Pole Position | G | Group Fastest Lap | |
References[]
Videos and Images:
- Mark McArdle, 'NICK HEIDFELD CANADIAN GP 2011', flickr.com, (Wikipedia, 12/06/2011), http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nick_Heidfeld#mediaviewer/File:NICK_HEIDFELD_CANADIAN_GP_2011.jpg, (Accessed 05/07/2015)
References:
- ↑ 1.00 1.01 1.02 1.03 1.04 1.05 1.06 1.07 1.08 1.09 'Drivers' Club: Nick Heidfeld', fiaformulae.com, (FIA Formula E, 2015), http://www.fiaformulae.com/en/drivers-club/nick-heidfeld.aspx, (Accessed 05/07/2015)
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 'Lucas di Grassi snatches win after dramatic last corner crash', fiaformulae.com, (FIA Formula E, 13/09/2014), http://www.fiaformulae.com/en/news/2014/september/lucas-di-grassi-snatches-win-after-dramatic-last-corner-crash.aspx, (Accessed 30/04/2015)
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 'Mahindra retain Heidfeld & Rosenqvist for season four', fiaformulae.com, (FIA Formula E, 20/09/2017), http://www.fiaformulae.com/en/news/2017/september/mahindra-retain-heidfeld-rosenqvist-for-season-four/, (Accessed 20/09/2017)
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 Sam Smith, 'Wehrlein makes Formula E move with Mahindra', eurosport.co.uk, (Eurosport, 16/10/2018), https://www.eurosport.co.uk/formula-e/wehrlein-makes-formula-e-move-with-mahindra_sto6973387/story.shtml, (Accessed 16/10/2018)
- ↑ 'Prost powers to first Formula E win', fiaformulae.com, (FIA Formula E, 14/03/2015) http://www.fiaformulae.com/en/news/2015/march/prost-powers-to-first-formula-e-win.aspx, (Accessed 30/04/2015)
- ↑ 'Di Grassi excluded from DHL Berlin ePrix', fiaformulae.com, (FIA Formula E, 23/05/2015), http://fiaformulae.com/en/news/2015/may/di-grassi-excluded-from-dhl-berlin-eprix.aspx, (Accessed 23/05/2015)
- ↑ 'Piquet masters Moscow', fiaformulae.com, (FIA Formula E, 30/06/2015), http://fiaformulae.com/en/news/2015/june/piquet-increases-lead-in-championship-with-moscow-win.aspx, (Accessed 09/06/2015)
- ↑ 'Bird hails ‘unbelievable’ end to season', fiaformulae.com, (FIA Formula E, 28/06/2015), http://fiaformulae.com/en/news/2015/june/bird-hails-unbelievable-end-to-season.aspx, (Accessed 30/06/2015)
- ↑ 'Nick Heidfeld joins Senna at Mahindra Racing', fiaformulae.com, (FIA Formula E, 10/08/2015), http://fiaformulae.com/en/news/2015/august/nick-heidfeld-to-drive-for-mahindra-racing.aspx, (Accessed 10/08/2015)
- ↑ 'Buemi to the max in Beijing', fiaformulae.com, (FIA Formula E, 24/10/2015),http://fiaformulae.com/en/news/2015/october/buemi-wins-swusp-beijing-eprix.aspx, (Accessed 25/10/2015)
- ↑ 'Oliver Rowland replaces injured Heidfeld', fiaformulae.com, (FIA Formula E, 04/12/2015), http://fiaformulae.com/en/news/2015/december/oliver-rowland-replaces-injured-heidfeld.aspx, (Accessed 04/12/2015)
- ↑ 'Bird holds off Buemi for BA win', fiaformulae.com, (FIA Formula E, 06/02/2016), http://fiaformulae.com/en/news/2016/february/bird-holds-off-buemi-for-ba-win.aspx, (Accessed 22/03/2016)
- ↑ 'Di Grassi triumphant in Paris', fiaformulae.com, (FIA Formula E, 23/04/2016), http://fiaformulae.com/en/news/2016/april/di-grassi-wins-visa-paris-eprix/, (Accessed 23/04/2016)
- ↑ 'ROSENQVIST AND HEIDFELD CONFIRMED AT MAHINDRA: SWEDISH DRIVER FELIX ROSENQVIST JOINS NICK HEIDFELD AT MAHINDRA RACING FOR 2016/17 SEASON', fiaformulae.com, (FIA Formula E, 22/08/2016), http://fiaformulae.com/en/news/2016/august/rosenqvist-and-heidfeld-confirmed-at-mahindra/, (Accessed 22/08/2016)
- ↑ 'Buemi holds on in Hong Kong', fiaformulae.com, (FIA Formula E, 09/10/2016), http://www.fiaformulae.com/en/news/2016/october/buemi-holds-on-in-hong-kong/, (Accessed 09/10/2016)
- ↑ 'Maiden pole for Rosenqvist', fiaformulae.com, (FIA Formula E, 12/11/2016), http://www.fiaformulae.com/en/news/2016/november/maiden-pole-for-rosenqvist/, (Accessed 12/11/2016)
- ↑ 'Red hot Rosenqvist hands Mahindra first win', fiaformulae.com, (FIA Formula E, 10/06/2017), http://www.fiaformulae.com/en/news/2017/june/red-hot-rosenqvist-hands-mahindra-first-win/, (Accessed 16/06/2017)
- ↑ 'Bird flies high with New York double', fiaformulae.com, (FIA Formula E, 16/07/2017), http://www.fiaformulae.com/en/news/2017/july/bird-flies-high-with-new-york-double/, (Accessed 17/07/2017)
- ↑ 'Bird clinches victory in Hong Kong', fiaformulae.com, (FIA Formula E, 02/12/2017), http://www.fiaformulae.com/en/news/2017/december/bird-clinches-victory-in-hong-kong/, (Accessed 16/12/2017)
- ↑ Scott Mitchell, 'Abt stripped of maiden Formula E win', motorsport.com, (Motorsport Network, 03/12/2017), https://www.motorsport.com/formula-e/news/abt-stripped-maiden-fe-win-hong-kong-985435/, (Accessed 03/12/2017)
- ↑ 'Rosenqvist victorious in 2018 ABB FIA Formula E Marrakesh E-Prix', fiaformulae.com, (FIA Formula E, 13/01/2018), http://www.fiaformulae.com/en/news/2018/january/rosenqvist-victorious-in-2018-abb-fia-formula-e-marrakesh-e-prix/, (Accessed 13/01/2018)
- ↑ 'JEV holds off di Grassi in battle for Punta del Este', fiaformulae.com, (FIA Formula E, 17/03/2018), http://www.fiaformulae.com/en/news/2018/march/jev-holds-off-di-grassi-in-battle-for-punta-del-este/, (Accessed 17/03/2018)
- ↑ 'Fairytale ending for home race hero Vergne in Paris', fiaformulae.com, (FIA Formula E, 28/04/2018), http://www.fiaformulae.com/en/news/2018/april/fairytale-ending-for-home-race-hero-vergne-in-paris/, (Accessed 29/04/2018)
- ↑ 'Abt leads Audi one-two win at home race in Berlin', fiaformulae.com, (FIA Formula E, 19/05/2018), http://www.fiaformulae.com/en/news/2018/may/abt-leads-audi-one-two-win-at-home-race-in-berlin/, (Accessed 19/05/2018)
- ↑ 'Di Grassi victorious as Vergne clinches championship crown', fiaformulae.com, (FIA Formula E, 14/07/2018), http://www.fiaformulae.com/en/news/2018/july/di-grassi-victorious-as-vergne-clinches-championship-crown/, (Accessed 15/07/2018)
- ↑ 'Champion Vergne victorious as Audi scoops the teams' title in New York finale', fiaformulae.com, (FIA Formula E, 15/07/2018), http://www.fiaformulae.com/en/news/2018/july/champion-vergne-victorious-as-audi-scoops-the-teams-title-in-new-york-finale/, (Accessed 16/07/2018)
- ↑ Tobias Bluhm, 'Nick Heidfeld in front of Formula E-Aus? - "not yet signed a contract for next year"', e-formel.de, (e-Formel.de, 20/07/2018), https://e-formel.de/news/nick-heidfeld-vor-formel-e-aus-noch-keinen-vertrag-fuer-naechstes-jahr-unterschrieben-3461.html, (Accessed 25/07/2018)