Q & A with Nick Heidfeld

Nick Heidfeld: It was not a wake-up call at all. We have been speaking about the problem for a while, and I don't really matter what is written in the press. We speak amongst each other and I know it sounds stupid, but the most pressure I make is from myself.

As a sportsman you have very high demands on yourself, and if it is not working I am not happy with myself. The rest does not have a big influence.

Q. How secure do you think your contract is for next year?

NH: Well that means I would have to tell you my contractual situation, and I cannot do that. But, I am pretty confident - that is as much as I can say.

Q. And you definitely will want to stay?

NH: Yes, clearly. I have been with the team for a while now, we have reached all the targets that the team gave out a few years ago and I think that is very impressive. The target for next year is to fight for the world championship, and I want to do that.

Q. Was the work you did at the Monza test a key factor in your performance lift here this weekend?

NH: Yes I think it was very important, although there was not a lot we tested. We did not adjust the programme massively and conditions were completely different - it was a lot hotter and it is obviously a different circuit. But I still found a few small things, which obviously did make a big difference.

Q. Were you feeling that you needed a good result here and in Monza to boost your future chances?

NH: Well, I think it was important for me to show a good result here - especially after the Valencia race, which was very poor. I had the feeling that after the early problems I had in the season, I managed to change things and improve things a lot. After the Valencia performance, it was something that opened up again and people jumped on it immediately and said it was back to the old problems again - and tended to forget that I already improved. So therefore I think it was important to show that it was going in the right direction and, actually, I have found even more than I had before Valencia.

Q. You looked quite optimistic on Friday afternoon. What was the reason for that optimism?

NH: Simply seeing that I did manage to get the hardest tyres we had working on a very cold track. So, in theory this should have been one of the most difficult times for me, coming here to these conditions. But already yesterday it worked out okay - and that made me quite happy.

Q. Do you still feel you need to deliver more to convince Mario Theissen about next year?

NH: I am not willing to speak any more about next year.

Q. Do you think the quick corners here helped you in finding the temperatures?

NH: No, I don't think so. I think it was still difficult to make the tyres work and I think you see some drivers still struggling.

Q. Did some specific go wrong in Valencia?

NH: Of course we analysed it afterwards and in Q2, obviously I had good pace. I was only one tenth off the quickest in P3, and then in hindsight, although afterwards it is always easy to say, in Q3 we should have stayed on the soft tyres and not gone to the hard ones. And the biggest problem in the race was the first eight laps, where my pace was really poor, and I lost so much time there that later in the race I was stuck in traffic for most of the time.

So everything came together - although that was the main factor. I don't want to blame the traffic, because the reason I came in traffic was my poor performance before that, but actually then the last stint and when I was free the pace was okay. It was just the beginning, which I say again is heat-up again, that screwed my race.

Q. How much more work have you had to put in this year compared to last year?

NH: It is a huge difference. Last year things were just working out and coming to us. And this year there is a lot more work I have to do - with the engineers, thinking about it at home and trying to get more test mileage like the test in Barcelona where I was not originally planned to run. There is a lot more work I have had to do - but if you have to do it, you have to do it. And if you get a good result, it was definitely worth it.

Q. Do you feel you are totally on top of the qualifying tyre problems?

NH: I am very confident, but as I said last time when I had similar problems we have to wait for the next couple of races. But I think the middle of the season, where I did improve, was a good indicator. And here in these conditions it is another good indicator that it should be a lot better.

Q. You have been in Formula One for quite a while; can you remember any situation like this before?

NH: No.

Q. So it is a completely new experience?

NH: I have been in worse situations in terms of the pressure I had, and people saying, and me actually being in a situation of me not knowing what will happen next year - and then afterwards driving for Jordan and Williams. But at this time I think my performance was okay and this year I struggled more than ever before in any other series.

If you compare myself to the teammates I had in F1, usually I did perform pretty well - and I never had as many problems as this season. Of course it is not nice but then it also shows that it is not a normal situation for me. I think I have the benefit there of all the years in F1, that my team knows what I can do - and I think that is not the worst thing.

Q. You worked on your problems at Monza, which is a completely different type of circuit to Spa. How do you explain what worked at Monza working here? Is it a good sign or rather confusing?

NH: It is a good sign, but I am also surprised that first of all the difference was so big - and on a completely different circuit with especially different temperatures I was able to translate it so well here. I am surprised, but happy of course.

Q. How frustrating is it as a driver that something changes in the package changes and suddenly the car does not suit your style?

NH: I have been asked that before, but I never feel frustration. That is the wrong word for me.

It is the situation you don't like, but it is something where you still look forward and you try and solve the problems. The word frustration for me would mean to lay back and not change things - and say, 'shit, what can I do?' It is not how I see it. I am still very motivated and I am trying to fix things.

Q. Is there a feeling that you can come of this as a better race driver?

NH: I think I can come out stronger for if I get into a similar situation in the future. That might be of benefit, but otherwise in terms of being a better driver after? I don't think so. I think I have enough experience in F1; I have had enough pressure in my career so far, that I don't think I have learned an awful lot in this regard.