Q & A with Nick Heidfeld
Q. Were you surprised that you could follow Kimi and Fernando in the early stages of the race?
Nick Heidfeld: I was surprised that I could follow Kimi but he was held up by Fernando. After Saturday, I was optimistic that I could follow Fernando after looking at the qualifying times - I thought we were pretty even and I thought I could pass him at the first pitstop as I thought we would be a bit longer. I was only one lap longer and the fact that Kimi was between the two of us meant my gain was too small to overtake.
Q. What was the car like on hard tyres at the end?
NH: I had a bit of a problem on the hards at the end. Fernando was a bit quicker than I was and I struggled to heat them up. But it was just enough to stay clear.
Q. Are you enjoying the responsibility of being the lead driver at BMW now?
NH: I don't know such a thing as being lead driver. I just do my very best and that's it.
Q. Is your momentum really helping to push the team forwards?
NH: I think it's important for the team that the first three weekends with me being fourth at each race and especially having a good weekend here and finishing in the points with both cars. Everybody is working flat out but with good results, everybody is in a good mood and works even harder.
Q. Your pre-season reliability problems now seem like a thing of the past?
NH: Yes, it looks like it. To be honest, before each weekend I'm still a little worried. But the last three races have been without any problems.
Q. Will the steering improvements make the car easier to drive?
NH: We have to test it first to see if it will work as expected. It should make the car a bit easier and more precise to drive - and that should naturally make it quicker. But it's not like the car is undriveable at the moment, it's just not optimal. I guess we should gain more laptime from the new aero package than from the steering.
Q. How satisfying was the move on Fernando?
NH: It was great. It was one of my nicest experiences in Formula One and my motorsport career. It's just so difficult to overtake in Formula One and it was a close move - we almost touched in Turn Four but we both knew what to do.
I had better traction out of the corner and when I was alongside him and he was on the inside I thought 'it's going to be close' but I just gained a few more metres on traction.
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