Heidfeld targets wins by 2008

The German began testing for the outfit at Barcelona in Spain on Monday and, with new V8 regulations due to be introduced next year, he is well aware that success will not be easy to come by.

"There will be a big difference in the engines, both in terms of reliability and power, and for sure McLaren and Renault will bring good and quick cars," he told autosport.com during a break in testing.

"I hope to finish among the top six next year, because I finished eighth this year, but the most important thing is not to be successful next season. But in three years I hope we can win races by then.

"I hope by 2008 that we can win and of course if it happens before then it will be nice - but I know it takes time to integrate new teams."

Heidfeld is no stranger to Sauber, having last raced for the team in 2003, and he admits that the biggest change at the outfit following the arrival of BMW is their outlook.

"It is like coming back home," he said. "But when I went to the factory it felts so familiar but also strange in a way. I had gone for three years but I had been with them for three years, so I know a lot of the people still.

"I do not feel a big difference at the team but the goals are a lot higher. I feel that the ambitions are a lot higher. They have at least more resources to do what they want to do and they want to be the best. When I was with them, it was not that they did not want to be the best, but they were realistic and knew it was not possible."

When asked about the actual differences that BMW's input into the team had made, Heidfeld said: "More people. Already they have more resources now and more people too - but it takes a lot of time to get bigger.

"First of all you have to search for people, put adverts in magazines or talk to people, and then you have to decide who you want. Then you still need to wait for three to six months for staff because they are not allowed to work for someone else immediately.

"So from what I hear new people are coming day-by-day. We will have a fully equipped aero team by the end of the year - well, that's the goal."

Heidfeld's running at Barcelona this week is the first time he has driven a Formula One car since he was forced out of the Italian Grand Prix with concussion as a result of a pre-event testing accident.

He then also fractured a shoulder blade in a bicycle accident over the Belgian Grand Prix weekend, which forced him to miss the remainder of the season.

When asked whether he still suffering any problems from the injury, he said: "Not now.

"When I throw a ball to my dog I still feel it, but now I really realise how complex the shoulder is. There are so many different movements it must make and although I may not be totally 100 percent in every direction, in the car there is no problem at all."