Nick Heidfeld

Nick Lars Heidfeld (German pronunciation: [nɪk laʁs ˈhaɪtfɛlt]; born 10 May 1977) is a German former racing driver, who competed in Formula One from 2000 to 2011. Born and raised in Mönchengladbach, Heidfeld began competitive kart racing aged 11. He progressed to Formula Ford in 1994, winning multiple national championships before graduating to Formula Three. After finishing third in 1996, Heidfeld won the German Formula Three Championship the following year, also winning the Monaco F3 Grand Prix. He then finished runner-up to Juan Pablo Montoya in International F3000, before winning the series in 1999. A test driver for McLaren since 1998, Heidfeld signed for Prost in 2000 to partner Jean Alesi, making his Formula One debut at the Australian Grand Prix. After a non-classified championship finish for Prost with the AP03, Heidfeld moved to Sauber in 2001, finishing fourth on debut and taking his maiden podium at the Brazilian Grand Prix as he outscored rookie teammate Kimi Räikkönen. Heidfeld remained at Sauber for two further seasons before moving to Jordan in 2004, where he scored multiple points finishes in the relatively uncompetitive EJ14. He signed for Williams in 2005, scoring several podiums amongst his maiden pole position at the European Grand Prix. Following a string of high-profile injuries, Heidfeld left Williams to re-join Sauber—now known as BMW Sauber—in 2006. He scored eight podiums across four seasons with BMW Sauber, finishing a career-best fifth in the World Drivers' Championship in 2007. BMW withdrew from the sport at the end of the 2009 season, leaving Heidfeld without a seat. He replaced Pedro de la Rosa at Sauber from the 2010 Singapore Grand Prix onwards, and joined Renault for his 2011 campaign to substitute for an injured Robert Kubica. Heidfeld took his final podium in Malaysia before he was replaced by Bruno Senna...