Q & A with Nick Heidfeld

Nick Heidfeld: No, I would not be disappointed. It is too simple a question - it depends so much on the circumstances. Of course it is our target and I hope we can achieve it, but you cannot simply say I would be disappointed if we don't manage to.

Q. When you did your demonstration lap, you lost one of the wheel shrouds. What happened?

NH: I only realised when the mechanics brought it down. I didn't see it.

Q. What do you think of the car?

NH: Obviously from driving you cannot really say anything. I had last year's seat in the car. I did only three laps, but I was low on fuel so that was why maybe it felt so good.

I can only comment about it visually - I like the looks of it and on top of that, knowing some of the data we have seen in the wind tunnel, people are happy because we achieved what we planned and everything has gone quite smooth. So right now we are happy, but as we said earlier it all depends on the competition and how much they have improved.

Q. How do you feel inside the cockpit?

NH: I don't have any problem fitting inside the car with my size. I don't feel the difference to last year. At the moment I still have last year's seat inside the car, but I have made a new one and I wanted to improve it further. I will test it this week in Valencia.

Q. How much progress have you made in coping without traction control? Is the car easier to drive?

NH: We have made some improvements but I think we are still a long way away from what is possible. It is the same thing - at the beginning you make bigger steps and now it is a bit easier to drive, but I think we can improve it a lot more. With the new car we have to learn most things again.

We have to double check that what we learned with the old car is the same with the new car, especially in terms of tyres and traction control. But that is what we will have to do in the next couple of weeks. That will be a key factor at the beginning of the season.

Q. Last year there were some reliability problems with the gearbox. Now the gearbox has to last for four races. How confident or how worried are you about this?

NH: I am hopeful that it will be okay. It looked quite good over the winter so far, but on the other hand we haven't covered enough kilometres yet to be 100 percent sure, but I am optimistic. Although I cannot be sure at the moment, I think we have to do more miles.

Q. Will taking care of rear tyres be the key to success this year?

NH: It might come like this. It is still early days, so we need to drive more to find out.

Q. After your first experiences without traction control, is it true that the driver can make more of a difference?

NH: Yes I believe so. It might be similar to a couple of years ago when traction control was introduced and most of the teams introduced it at that time. Then we saw that good drivers were still leading and the others came a little bit closer, and I expect the same thing now. The good guys will still be at the front and the slower ones will be a bit further away, but I don't think there will be a dramatic change.

Q. BMW Sauber are slowly getting to the top of F1. When it comes to the title battle there is always talk about whether or not a team should have a number one and a number two driver. What is your position on this? Should a team always decide at a certain stage to have a number one and a number two?

NH: I find this one quite difficult to answer. Obviously officially there are no team orders any more, and from a driver's perspective I don't like it. I think you should just race each other. On the other side, there is obviously a whole team trying to win the world championship so from that sense it makes sense. It is a difficult one.

Q. David Coulthard from the GPDA has said that he does not want to race in the wet without traction control. What is your opinion about it?

NH: If somebody from the GPDA says something, then it does not necessarily mean he shares the opinion with all the rest. You have to be careful not to see it this way. I guess he said it in a personal way, as it was not discussed within the GPDA.

It is understandable, and it definitely is more dangerous than in the dry. But there is always a line. Driving a Formula One car is dangerous by itself. You can just sit outside it and it will be safer. For me it is not crossing the line of being too dangerous.

I think it is what F1 needs. I think F1 needs no traction control. I enjoy it a lot more as a driver and definitely, especially in the race, it will be from my point of view more fun to drive. If the conditions are like they were in Fuji, for example, then I think the race should have been stopped anyway - no matter if you had TC or not.

Q. Where have the biggest improvements come with the car?

NH: I think it will be on the aerodynamic side, I think that is how it looks if you see the results from the wind tunnel. On the engine side, definitely there are improvements going on but under the current regulations you cannot make big jumps. And in terms of the suspension, I have to drive the new car first to see, but I think we have made some big steps there with the team in the last couple of years.

Q. Is the change from traction control to no traction control bigger than it was from normal tyres to control tyres?

NH: I think the biggest change is having no TC. The adjustment, I don't see one bigger or smaller. You just have to go with what you have. Most things just come naturally.

Q. Normally people who come to BMW Welt come to collect their own cars. Have BMW said you can keep this one, and have you enough space in your garage?

NH: No, but they will be very welcome. If they give it me, I will find some space.

Q. Now that you ended the season as Germany's top driver, how has your life changed - especially now that there are no Schumachers in Formula One any more?

NH: Well, last season obviously Ralf was still around. But already last season there was quite a big change with Michael not being there and me being the strongest (German) in F1. The attention was a lot more from the media, from the people in general, but my private life hasn't changed a lot. I live in Switzerland and the people there are quite laid back, and a few more people realise who I am. But there is not a dramatic change there luckily.

Q. Do you have any contact with Michael Schumacher any more?

NH: I have spoken to him once or twice in the last year, but no real contact. At the tests I didn't see him. I would have liked to, but I guess he was rather busy with 100 journalists surrounding him!

Q. Do you expect Lewis Hamilton to be as strong as he was last season?

NH: Him, yes. More difficult to answer that one about the car. The first test looked quite good, but I am sure he will learn further.

Q. John Watson, when he won his first Grand Prix in the Seventies, he shaved his beard off. Will you do the same this year?

NH: I don't know, I haven't thought about that. I've thought about winning but I didn't think about doing anything special!