Renault know they have a good car this year and already ruled Senna out of the drive because he lacked experience. At the moment, Nick Heidfeld is the obvious choice for Renault - He is very experienced, he can provide good input into car development and can regularly score points and possibly podiums. Just like Webber before 2009, Nick Heidfeld has never really had a car capable of consistently winning races. Even Kubica's 2008 Canada win was lucky - thanks to Hamilton forgetting to brake in the pit lane. When Renault gave him his one opportunity in the R31, he impressed and said he couldn't have done any better. So why haven't Renault announced Nick Heidfeld as their main driver? Is it something to do with Kubica saying he preferred Liuzzi?
As a Renault fan im confused. Senna wasnt even considered for the drive but impressed during his test. Hiedfeld is at the end of his carear and Im not sure he will be the best to win races for us. Yet he has shown good pace. Liuzzi I wouldnt bother with Red Bull and Force India both forced him out of a contract so It shows that he is nothing of great substance. But yet I would rate these 3 drivers better than Petrov currently?!? (judging on 2010 form) But then again who can currently fill Roberts void?
El Bando, Heidfeld is not at the end of his career, he is only 33 - and I think he is yet to peak. He is better then most current F1 drivers. As for Liuzzi, there is only one person who supports him - and thats Fernando Alonso. Other then that, nobody else thinks he's good enough for F1, and his record is terrible. Boullier said he was "evaluating Heidfeld" and then would make a decision - but I suspect the announcement hasn't been made because of Kubica's comments about Liuzzi being his preferred choice. Renault's line up for the Barcelona test should tell us more about who is likely to secure the seat - perhaps Liuzzi might even test for a day.
I used to think Liuzzi was going to be big after he won the F3000 and got Ferrari looking into him but once he got in a F1 car to race he never shined. Heidfeld, I remember him F3000 also, Nobody could beat him in and had good backing from McLaren and Mercedes. He started off not to bad in an uncompetitive Prost car and drove well for sauber but when Mclaren picked his inexperianced Team mate kimi Raikkonan over him for thier spare seat you have to wonder why they didnt go for thier protegé. When he got into a competitive BMW car he was a solid points scorer and race finisher but never a top driver that could win.
Bando, Trulli looked like the real deal at one point, and so did a few others. I find it shocking how these drivers can easily dominate open wheel racing until they get to F1 - where they look average at best. With the testing ban in place, it becomes even harder for rookie these drivers and some have the potential but aren't given a fair chance, e.g. Grosjean, Hulkenburg
whats your point here? Trulli, Heidfeld and Liuzzi came into F1 when the testing rules were not strict but yet they never reached there promised potential.
What on earth are Renault doing?? They dont seem to have any backbone and making a straight decision. They would be mental for not snapping up Nick NOW. If it has anything to do with kubica...they need to tell him to focus on his recovery. Renault are pussy-footing around and it is making themselves look dumb. Luizzi or pedro will be disasterous for renault - They are both too calamitous and error prone. They are not even in the same league as Nick. I think Robert is worried that Nick will definately impress renault and he is worried that Nick has the talent to overshadow Robert. Renault & Eric need to get a backbone and stabalise the team by not delaying the announcement....they as a team just need to get their heads down and focus on pushing the car forward.
Average? Nick is a class act, who just hasn't been given the right car to prove himself. Same as Jenson Button and Mark Webber - if he gets a competitive car (especially with someone like Petrov as his teammate), expect him to be a title contender.
Chances are the renault will probably be he 3rd to 5th best car. Nick will look good next to petrov (everyone does) but he will just be 6th to 8th at every race and then at the of the season he will once again have no drive. He is renaults only option. simple as that.
He's better then that - last year he took just 2 races to get the same number of points as De La Rosa did. In 2009 he beat Kubica in the championship. Throughout the time that Heidfeld and Kubica were teammates, Kubica was seen to be the better driver, but he never dominated him.
I never said he was bad. i just don't think he is anything special and at 33, after 174 races. someone else deserves a shot.
The lack of race wins come from an uncompetitive car throughout his career - same as Nico Rosberg. Kubica is seen as one of the best drivers on the grid, and Nick Heidfeld wasn't far behind when they were teammates - and for this reason I think Nick is in the same tier of drivers such as Jenson Button, Mark Webber, Adrian Sutil, Nico Rosberg
I know it sounds silly based on his recent form, but I know Felipe is a fantastic driver, proved when he outdrove Raikkonen in 2008 and almost became World Champion in the process. I genuinely believe that his only problem last year was getting sufficient heat into the tyres, which resulted in poor qualifying performances. The F10 was the kindest on its tyres, so this made Felipe's problem a lot worse. Rob Smedley said that Alonso brakes a lot earlier into the corners and he therefore is quicker through the apex and this generates more heat into the tyres, whereas Massa brakes a lot later.
