Theissen: Heidfeld will overcome problems

Heidfeld is struggling with tyre warm-up issues, which means his rubber is not at the best operating temperature during qualifying runs.

That has allowed teammate Robert Kubica to get ahead of him on the grid at every race so far this season - and meant Heidfeld qualified outside the top 10 in Monaco last weekend for the first time in more than a year.

But Theissen thinks that Heidfeld and the team's engineers will soon find a solution that will allow the German to return to the form he showed in 2007.

"We have to make a joint effort to help him overcome this situation as quickly as possible," Theissen told his team's official website. "He has significant difficulties getting the tyres up to working temperature for a fast lap.

"While Robert only encounters first hints of this problem, Nick is already in massive difficulties. This is a situation we have witnessed throughout the season. However, as soon as his tyres are warm, the problem is history.

"Nick fully immerses himself in the technology and tackles the situation. He is going to analyse the issue together with our engineers. I hope that we will quickly succeed in isolating the cause.

"We have to discover if there is a factor which represents a bigger obstacle for Nick than for Robert, a task that will require a lot of fine-tuning."

Theissen is encouraged by the fact that the team helped Kubica overcome similar difficulties he had last year - when Heidfeld outshone him for much of the year.

"In 2007 Robert encountered a similar low. Together we analysed the situation and defined remedy measures. And we did so successfully.

"Nick will return to the road to success, we are fully aware of his true competitiveness. I have often watched him under pressure and in these situations he delivers at his very best. I know that he has what it takes to cope with the pressure and to analyse the technology. These are two crucial basic requirements for solving the problem."