Nick Heidfeld has not given up on Formula One

At the beginning of the season, orphaned by Robert Kubica, who was seriously injured at the Rallye Ronde di Andorra, the Lotus team turned to the experienced Nick Heidfeld as they saw him as a leader. Despite a podium in Malaysia, the adventure was short-lived and the native of Mönchengladbach was dismissed by the Enstone team, which preferred Bruno Senna instead.

Available on the transfer market during the off-season, the German, who just celebrated his 35th birthday, is not attracting any team and acknowledges today in *Auto Motor und Sport* that it was very difficult for him to accept no longer being in Formula One this season.

However, although he has now turned towards endurance racing, and has been working as a commentator for the German channel n-tv since the Bahrain Grand Prix, which broadcasts the free practice sessions of the Grand Prix, the former Lotus driver indicates that he has not given up on Formula One: « One might think so, but that’s not the case. Of course, it’s not easy to find a spot, otherwise I would already be there. I’m having a lot of fun in endurance racing, and we’ll just wait to see what the future holds. »

Despite everything, the former Enstone member is savoring the start of this 2012 championship: « It’s incredible! I think even the teams don’t really know what’s happening. It’s more thrilling for the spectators and I also believe for many teams who know they have their chance from time to time. It’s a change from recent years when Red Bull, and maybe McLaren, could win and the rest were fighting for the minor places. »

If some praise the merits of Pirelli tires for the resurgence of spectacle and unpredictability in Formula One, others, chief among them Michael Schumacher, lament that the Milanese tires prevent drivers from exploring the limits of their machines: [Michael Schumacher] complains a little more than usual, and it will always make more noise than if someone else says it, reveals Nick Heidfeld, who has been one of the many development drivers for the Italian manufacturer. Of course, as a driver, you always want better tires, but as always, you have to adapt to the situation. Sometimes it works well for you, sometimes less so.

But although the season has turned out to be relatively unpredictable so far, Nick Heidfeld has a good idea about the identity of the driver who might clinch the world title at the end of the season and, when asked by Auto Motor und Sport, he simply replies: Lewis Hamilton.