A Good Start: Interview with Nick Heidfeld

There was much to think about once the dust had settled at the end of the Australian Grand Prix, but one of the most impressive performances in a race where some drivers excelled and others flunked out was that of Nick Heidfeld.

From ninth on the grid, the German made a steady start, and then stunned the opposition by staying out as everyone else made their first pitstop. When he finally came in on lap 25 (four after winner Fernando Alonso), he dropped only to fourth, and in a normal race Juan Pablo Montoya's subsequent retirement should have put him on the podium.

In fact, like Honda, BMW-Sauber were among those suffering most with the tyre temperature issue, and Heidfeld lost ground badly at the restarts following the safety car periods. In the end, Toyota's Ralf Schumacher got ahead, and Nick had to settle for fourth, while sixth for teammate Jacques Villeneuve - on one-stop from near the back of the grid - was a useful bonus.

Along with Renault, BMW were one of only two teams to get both cars home in the points on a day when quick wits on the pit wall and in the cockpit made all the difference. And that's a good indication that things are coming together well in Hinwil. Ten points and fifth in the constructors' championship, ahead of Toyota and Williams, is a respectable starting point by any standards.

Heidfeld says that he did not expect to be chasing a podium finish as early as the third race.

"No, definitely not," he admits. "We looked quite strong over the whole weekend. On Friday it was a bit hard to tell, because I only did three laps. On Saturday, in the morning we were P1 and P2, which was nice, and then already in qualifying we saw in Q2 that I was third, and we thought it was quite good. We messed up Q3 a bit, but nevertheless I didn't expect to be quite that quick.

"Regarding the conditions, it was a good qualifying lap, but still we could have achieved a lot more, we were just not organised properly. I didn't have new tyres in the end, so a few positions were thrown away there."

BMW teammates Jacques Villeneuve and Nick Heidfeld in the Australian Grand Prix © Reuters

Heidfeld's tyre problem on race-day meant that he was in the thick of the action at restarts, as cars queued up to get past him.

"I had very cold front tyres, so Kimi [Raikkonen] was all over me," the German says. "I think actually he hit me very slightly at the exit of Turn 4, and then I locked up the fronts going into Turn 6 and went a bit off the circuit.

"Kimi got by, and then Ralf got by, which I think was close to the safety car. I couldn't say if it was still OK or not. But with [Juan Pablo] Montoya, the safety car was very obviously there, and he just went by! In the end he didn't finish anyway, but I'm sure he would have been penalised.

"It hurt us a little bit that we seemed to struggle a bit more than a few other teams with the tyre heat-up, which you could see after the last safety car. The cars in front of me just made a big gap in a couple of laps, just pulling away maybe 10 seconds. So that's what we have to work on, but I think we should be more than happy with what we have."

Heidfeld adds that his strategy of running heavy in qualifying and stopping late paid off.

"I think that worked out quite well. I have to say, the pit crew did fantastic work again, already in the last race I think we had one of the quickest stops, together with Renault, who are always until now - unfortunately! - the quickest. So I made some positions from the pitstop.

"It's fantastic looking at what Jacques did, starting from 19th position, and I think before the race we wouldn't have expected to get both cars in the points. We can't really say it was only a lucky result for us, because in the end I was driving away from [Jenson] Button, who was in front of Fisi (Giancarlo Fisichella) in the Renault. So we were quicker than some of the very quick teams."

As noted, 10 points at this stage is a pretty good start, but it could have been better than that had things fallen into place in Bahrain and Malaysia.

"In the first race, I could have been sixth without a mistake in qualifying. In the second race, I could have finished fifth - although I was a bit lucky with some cars not finishing.

"But anyway, that wouldn't have been too bad, and also we didn't make it into the top 10 qualifying in Malaysia. Two tenths more and it would have been seventh, so that shows how close everything is together. That's different than expected. I thought this year - with the quite big engine changes and other changes - that there would be a wider spread, but it's closer together."

Nick Heidfeld locks up in the Malaysian Grand Prix © LAT

Those wasted points could prove costly, as it won't get any easier to score as the year goes on, but Heidfeld says the team cannot be too disappointed.

"You can see it from two sides. We're not happy with that, but then I think we should be quite happy with our speed. Of course you always want to perform better and want to score points, but we are just at the beginning of what we planned. It should be a couple of years to get to the front. I think our starting point is OK."

It's a little too early to say whether the reliability problems that struck the Munich V8 in the opening races have been fully addressed - Villeneuve's engine was new for qualifying in Australia, and Heidfeld's was also on its first event. Nick says that the spectacular failures for Jacques in Bahrain and himself in Malaysia came out of the blue.

"We didn't expect it, because in winter testing we've been quite reliable. I think sometimes it just happens - you are reliable, and then suddenly some small things come into play and you're not any more.

"Honestly, I was not worried about my engine in the second race, for sure more after I'd seen Jacques's engine go in Bahrain, but then I did the whole weekend, and nearly the whole race, and I thought, OK, if it lasts until now, nothing will happen. It was just very unlucky that it was only eight laps to go!

"Australia was only the first race for my engine, so you have to expect that it works, but I had a new spec, as did Jacques when he changed before qualifying. So at the moment I'm not worried."

It's still hard to see exactly where BMW fits in the grand scheme of things in 2006, and most people are still talking about four big teams fighting for honours, with Williams, Toyota and BMW somehow yet to fully prove themselves.

"I think you can already get a pretty good idea about where the teams stand," says Heidfeld. "I think, as expected, Renault are the strongest team, they've won all the races. Honda are not bad - Jenson had a strong race in Malaysia - but even so, Renault were strong enough to overtake them, with Alonso coming from further back.

"I'm a bit surprised by McLaren, because they had a lot of problems in winter testing, and they seem quite strong already, although Kimi was a bit unlucky.

Nick Heidfeld (BMW) leads Michael Schumacher (Ferrari) at Melbourne © LAT

"Ferrari are a bit up and down, I would say. First race - good; last races - weak. I didn't expect us to beat them, and without the engine failure, I would have been ahead of both Ferraris in Malaysia, which was unexpected.

"Also, Williams are stronger than expected, with a fastest lap [in Australia] and starting from the second row with both cars [in Malaysia]. Already we're getting into a range where it's very close together, where we are with a few other teams."

All now depends on the rate of development, and who can improve fastest as the year goes on. Sauber always had a reputation for starting well and then sliding down the order as others moved forward, but now the team have the resources with which to push ahead.

"That's what we always see in Imola, new packages flying around everywhere!" Heidfeld chuckles. "We will have a new package, and I'm sure it will work fine.

"The question is, how much the others will improve."