Constructors’ Championship

Nick Heidfeld, Renault, Barcelona, 2011 - Photo © Renault/LAT

Guest writer James Stock pens his first post looking at how Renault have fallen from double world champions in 2006 to the sticky situation they find themselves in today

The events broadcast from the Formula 1 circus this year have bought a wide range of emotions from fans across the world. Seeing Bruno in a much better car than the GP2 back marker Dallara handed over to HRT last year, is long overdue to some and perceived to be a deserved opportunity. Others bemoan the poor treatment of ‘Quick Nick’, mis-treated by his Renault employers because he didn’t dominate the team and track like his former team mate Kubica. What seems to have gone largely unnoticed, is the downfall of the Renault team.

How far have they fallen? November 2006 – double world champions. 2009, disgraced by the FIA for bringing the sport into disrepute. 2011, crumbling. It is hard to believe they revolved so much around Kubica after just one season. But remove Kubica, and a promising car in Australia and Malaysia turned into a midfielder even by Monaco. The development wasn’t there, the direction wasn’t there. Both seemed to disappear with Kubica. In 2010 they bought developments to most races and they worked. In 2011 they were sporadic at best, and inconsistent in their output.

The loosely attached armco barrier that ruined the popular Pole’s season was only half the issue. Money, or an apparent lack of, seems to have exacerbated the issue. Lotus make great cars, but a title sponsor of an F1 team? They’re not exactly Vodafone or Santander, they haven’t been turning over multi-million pound profits for years on end, so are they actually providing the financial backing Renault so badly need? The ensuing and confusing court case with Team Lotus won’t have come cheaply either. Have Renault and Genii’s limited resources been overstretched by off-track events? Now Heidfeld is taking the team to court over his dismissal. Renault must be on first name terms with the court clerks in most major European cities by now.

The Senna/Heidfeld issue this weekend at Spa is merely the tip of the iceberg. The spiel from the team and the rumours in the press are no different to what we hear for every story from any team. It’s worth remembering, we rarely get such confused messages from other leading teams. It’s the same sort of mess Senna had in 2010. But that was at HRT, a cashless back marker in its debut season. None of these should apply to Renault, and they are surely the biggest losers from all these struggles. 5 seasons suddenly seems like a very, very long time, and I genuinely hope the team can recover from this.

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Yesterday in Kuala Lumpur the Petronas Pit Pulse took place, where Mercedes GP put on F1 demonstrations courtesy of their title sponsor.

The 2010 Mercedes GP MGP W01 was on show being driven by Nico Rosberg and Michael Schumacher, and Juan Manuel Fangio’s beautiful 1954 championship-winning Silver Arrow was driven by Nick Heidfeld. Also on show was the new Mercedes Formula 1 safety car.

The three German Mercedes GP drivers; Michael Schumacher, Nico Rosberg and Nick Heidfeld met the fans after the event.

The 32-year-old German Heidfeld has participated in every F1 season from his debut in 2000, and has amassed 219 career points, and 12 podiums, but unfortunately has never won a Grand Prix.

“I am very pleased to be joining the MERCEDES GP PETRONAS Formula One Team. It’s the team which has attracted the most interest in the close season, not only because of the comeback of Michael Schumacher, but also because this season sees the return of the Silver Arrows cars as a Mercedes-Benz works team for the first time in over fifty years. Whilst I would of course have preferred a seat as an active driver, I am really proud to be part of the new Silver Arrows team. I have seen how committed everyone at the team is and I feel the same. I will be doing my very best to support Michael and Nico this year.”

Nick Heidfeld

Mercedes GP team principal Ross Brawn said:

“It’s a great pleasure for us to have signed a driver of the calibre and experience of Nick Heidfeld as our Reserve Race Driver and Test Driver for the 2010 season. Nick has over ten years of experience in Formula One working with established teams and he will be a great asset to MERCEDES GP PETRONAS. I am confident that his input into the development of our MGP W01 car will be invaluable. We look forward to welcoming Nick to MERCEDES GP PETRONAS and working closely with him.”

Ross Brawn

The head of Mercedes motorsport, Norbert Haug added:

“To sign Nick Heidfeld as Reserve Race Driver and Test Driver for MERCEDES GP PETRONAS Formula One Team means another re-enforcement for our team. We have known each other for many years and Nick was supported by our junior drivers programme from 1997. During his 10 years in Formula One, circumstances often made it difficult for him to achieve his breakthrough. However Nick is extremely capable, he will be an asset to our team and he will show this.”

Norbert Haug

Image (C) LAT

Heidfeld would complete an all-German lineup at the new Mercedes team, alongside race drivers Michael Schumacher and Nico Rosberg.

Motorsport-Total.com quoted Heidfeld’s manager Andre Theuerzeit as saying:

“Nick wants to concentrate fully on his job as a test driver and support the regular driver with his experience.”

Heidfeld has raced in F1 169 times starting in 2000, scoring 12 podiums but never winning a Grand Prix.

Heidfeld would complete the all Germanic line up while bringing great experience and back up to the team, where the fitness of the returning Michael Schumacher is far from assured.

However head of Mercedes motorsport Norbert Haug is dampening the speculation, saying:

‘There has only been basic contact with Nick, which is what I have had for several years.

‘We did talk to Nick about possibilities with Mercedes Grand Prix as well as McLaren-Mercedes.”

Heidfeld has driven for 10 years in F1, starting in 2000. He has driven for Prost, Sauber, Jordan, Williams and BMW Sauber. In this time he has amassed 219 points with 12 podiums, but he has never won a Grand Prix.

The newspaper said that an announcement will be made soon, barring “an earthquake in Hinwil.”

The 38-year-old Spaniard has had two previous stints in an F1 race seat from 99-02 with Arrows and Jaguar and from 05-06 at McLaren, before become a full time test driver for McLaren. In his 72 races, he collected 29 points with just 1 podium, and 0 wins.

Last week team owner Peter Sauber was quoted as saying that “an experienced man” with “new knowledge for the team” has been signed to partner Kobayashi in 2010 – a bill perfectly fitted by de la Rosa.

Christian Klien and Nick Heidfeld are other drivers in the running for the seat.

Finnish newspaper Turun Sanomat alleges that a deal has been made but  that no confirmation will be made until both race seats have been filled.

Kobayashi had hoped for a race with Toyota, but the Japanese manufacturer have pulled out of the sport.

Giancarlo Fisichella, Nick Heidfeld and Pedro de la Rosa are believed to be on Sauber’s shortlist, and Peter Sauber has already expressed a desire for a blend of youth and experience behind the wheel.

It is also rumoured that Belgian driver Bertand Baguette (what a name!) will get the test and reserve driver role in Sauber, if you believe comments made by his manager. Baguette drove for BMW Sauber during the last day of the youngsters’ test in Jerez.

Turun Sanomat has also reported Malaysian oil company Petronas will maintain it’s backing of the Swiss team.

This could mean that Kubica is interested in shopping around if the deal isn’t to his liking. The clauses of his contract are unknown but with this deal there may be a loophole which allows him to leave.

If Kubica isn’t satisfied with Renault’s plans then he is fast running out of options. It’s early to call just where each team will be in terms of performance but the only team likely to be ahead of Renault and with a free seat is Mercedes GP.
Mercedes however, are allowing the Schumacher rumours to get very strong. There is still a lot to overcome to sign Michael as he hasn’t yet asked to be released by Ferrari but these rumours just refuse to go away.

Also waiting in the wings for the seat is Robert’s former BMW-Sauber teammate Nick Heidfeld. Heidfeld has beaten Kubica in 2007 and 2009 but for whatever reason it is Kubica who is the more highly rated. Mercedes seem to want two German drivers but if he does come on the market he will be hard to resist.

The new teams would be a big step down but ideally it would only be for a year. Massa’s and Webber’s contracts are up at the end of next season so he could fight for one of those seats (he is friends with Alonso and was approached by the Italian squad to stand in for Felipe Massa after his accident so Kubica could work well at Ferrari).

However, if only a year-long deal is wanted then Robert would be wise to stay where he is. Renault has a good team of people; they know how to win despite the slump of recent years and would greatly benefit from having him as team leader.

Kubica’s management has said they will at least need a few days to consider what has happened but with the silly season jigsaw beginning to slip into place they could run out of time.

It’s the one question on everyone’s lips – will Michael Schumacher return in 2010 with Mercedes?

And while there has been no official announcement, the rumours just won’t go away.

Does Schumacher want to race in 2010? The answer has got to be a solid yes.

The seven-times champion was gutted not to be able to fill in for Massa last year, and his passion for racing is obviously burning as bright as ever. A simple no would have put an end to all the rumours, but as there has been none, he must want to return.

In fact, all his quotes point to a willingness to get back behind an F1 car. With comments like:

“Who knows? Anything can happen.”

and earlier this year he said:

“From now to the end of the year, my neck injury will be healed to the point where I could drive again. I have nothing to prove to anyone, not even myself. I still slightly regret having retired three years ago but there’s no reason whatsoever for me to definitively announce that I will not come back.”

The major stumbling block seems to be his ties to Ferrari and their sponsors. But Ferrari appear to have now cleared the way for Schumacher to join the Mercedes F1 team.

Ferrari president Luca di Montezemolo said Schumacher’s role was “not binding”. He added:

“If he takes another road our agreement will no longer be valid. You can’t work with a competitor and with us at the same time. I still haven’t spoken to him about it. He is only a dear friend, not a team member. He is a consultant for our road cars.”

Mercedes are wanting to create a German superteam, and with Rosberg already in place, there’s only one seat to fill.

Before the Schumacher rumours started, Nick Heidfeld was tipped for the seat after BMW announced they were leaving F1, before selling the team back to Peter Sauber.

And it seems Heidfeld had pinned his hopes on a drive with The Silver Arrows, and he’s admitted to turning down other deals. He said:

“I have already turned down concrete opportunities and we are continuing to give other possibilities a lesser priority.”

It’s been a frustrating time for Heidfeld, who after learning BMW were leaving the sport must have been buoyed by the news on Mercedes. And now he’s hoping Schumacher will decide to stay on the sidelines. He said:

“I am not shy of my opinion about the speculation surrounding Michael’s possible comeback.

However, there is still a spare seat at Renault, which would see Heidfeld back with Robert Kubica if that move came off.

And it’s been a bad day for Mercedes, however, after a row over 90m euros in sponsorship money has developed with German consumer products firm Henkel.

It is understood that the team, then Brawn GP, believed it had a deal with the company earlier this year. However, Henkel now claims that the contract was put together by an ex-member of staff who was acting without the company’s authorisation. Henkel filed a law suit over the issue in November.

And so back to Schumacher, although I’m not going to put my neck on the line, he will be back, won’t he?