The Time of Nick

Few drivers are looking forward to the Bahrain Grand Prix as much as Nick Heidfeld. While of course everyone else is also raring to go, the added incentive for the German is that he hasn't started a race since Istanbul way back on August 21st. A testing crash followed by an unfortunate cycling mishap while recuperating saw him invalided out of the last five Grands Prix of the 2005 season.

He didn't much enjoy sitting at home watching Antonio Pizzonia race 'his' Williams FW27, but there was some comfort. During his break he was confirmed as a BMW driver for 2006, having already received a longer-term commitment from the manufacturer. He now finds himself with a multi-year deal and a challenging role as a key part of the new project.

BMW didn't know too much about Heidfeld at the start of 2005, but after he finally convinced Frank Williams and pipped Pizzonia to the race seat he didn't waste too much time making an impression. While Mark Webber had the legs of him in qualifying, there's no doubt that Nick showed better form in the early races.

A tangle with Michael Schumacher put him out in Australia, but he turned in a feisty performance on the way to third in Malaysia. Then he had a faultless run to second at Monaco, although a different choice on the pit wall could have given Webber the position. In his home race at the Nurburgring he took pole and, after Kimi Raikkonen's late retirement, earned another second place. Of course there was a little opportunism involved, but others could have run lighter in qualifying and tried his strategy.

Frank Williams and Patrick Head became huge fans. After the Ralf and JPM soap opera, both men appreciated Heidfeld's low-key, no-nonsense approach to the job, as well as his technical input. He did so well that it became evident that there might be a tug-of-love between BMW's Mario Theissen and Frank, who had Heidfeld under option for 2006. But after he signed with BMW for 2007 and 2008, he became a lot less attractive to Williams, and he was allowed to walk away.

In the end, choosing Heidfeld was a no-brainer for Theissen and his colleagues. Not only did they have a first hand understanding of what he could bring to a team, but crucially as a bonus Heidfeld had gained three years of experience with Sauber in 2001-'03. He knew the people, he knew how the team worked, and was thus the ideal man to help smooth the transition. He talks the same language as his bosses in more ways than one.

"It is interesting," he admits. "It's been said before that this was probably part of the reason that it was good to choose me for the team. At first I thought, OK, that's probably not that important, but what I see now is that I can actually help a bit, because I know both sides. I can help them tie things together, knowing the right people and all that stuff."

No one said it was going to be easy. The new F1.06 appears to be a respectable starting point, but the jump from where Sauber has traditionally run to challenging for titles is a huge one. Heidfeld is in no doubt as to what the most difficult task will be.

"I think it's already started, and it's finding the right people, putting them in the right place, and on top of that, doing it in a very short time. More or less, this car was built mainly by the same people as last year, but from mid-year we'll probably already start building, as will the other teams, next year's car. So we need to get the right people."

Of course, the process is very much underway, and it began after BMW took charge at end of June. Peter Sauber's name may still be on the front door, but he's just a figurehead, and a new, corporate approach is in place. Nick says the team is already very different from the one he left at the end of 2003.

"Yes, of course there are a few people I don't know, although I know most of them. And I see that their ambitions are a lot higher now. When it was Sauber, they knew that they didn't have the resources to win, and now they know that they have. So their goal is to be the best. Of course, they know that it won't be now, and although as I said earlier there are not so many new people yet, they know they have more possibilities.

"It's not like they build one part and it's OK, that's it; if they see it's not perfect they can try again. Hopefully the wind tunnel will be running 24 hours at the end of this year, but it will take quite some time. That's what I mean, we need to find the right people. It's probably not too difficult just to put somebody in there, but we need the right people."

A few years ago, the V10 appeared to be the strong point of the BMW-Williams package, but by the end of the 3-litre era the Bavarian marque appeared to have been left behind, due in no small part to the extended mileage required by the rule changes over the past two years.

The V8 regulations have at least given all the designers a chance to start afresh. It's way too early to say what the pecking order will be. Everyone has already made huge progress since they first ran their prototypes, and there are more developments in the pipeline for the first race. The near freezing temperatures seen in Europe this winter will bear little relation to what will be experienced in the opening races of the season. The BMW guys are painfully aware that high ambient proved an Achilles Heel in Bahrain last year.

Heidfeld says he's already got used to V8 power, and insists that the team is making progress.

"In the beginning, the power was a huge difference. I've said before that because I didn't drive the last five races, that made me think that when I got into the V8 I would think it was quick. But it wasn't! It's a loss that was easy to feel. But now, after a few tests with it, I'm more or less used to it.

"I'm quite happy. Of course, there are a few problems, but the biggest problem we had in December - which was not on the engine directly, but connected to the engine - is already solved, and in the recent tests we didn't have any problems. All the problems have been easy to fix, and it seems there are no problems which we cannot solve."

On a personal level, Heidfeld could not be any happier, and the bitter disappointment he felt when McLaren and Mercedes snubbed him in preference for then Sauber teammate Kimi Raikkonen has long since subsided.

Heidfeld recently became a father, and after a few years of uncertainty - after Sauber Mk1, Jordan and Williams, this is in effect his fourth team in as many seasons - he has job security and the knowledge that he really is wanted on board. The pressure will all be on his teammate.

Nobody is expecting too much from the new organisation in its first year, and that suits Nick just fine. That's not to say he isn't ambitious.

"I'm very excited. It's really a different time than what it was a few weeks ago, it's like the new season really started now, and everything is kicking off. I hope that we will get into the top six in the championship, but it's so difficult to say. I don't really know.

"I'm absolutely more fired up than I was the last couple of years. Also because I know now that I will be with the team for a few years, and it kind of gives you a different feeling than having a contract for one year, not really being sure what happens next.

"It's more a feeling of building something up together, and hopefully getting to the top."

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- The Autosport.com Team

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