MiamiPhill

Heidfeld relives his Silverstone thriller

With Lewis Hamilton?s sterling home victory and Rubens Barrichello?s first podium in three seasons at Silverstone last weekend, Nick Heidfeld?s second-place finish at the British Grand Prix was somewhat overshadowed. For Heidfeld?s fans, however, the German?s race was a sensation. Not only did he overcome his recent qualifying woes, he fought his way onto the podium with a triumphant mix of clever strategy, composed racing and cooler-than-cool overtaking moves?

Q: You?ve earned a lot of praise for your second place and pair of double overtaking moves in the rain of Silverstone. How did you pull off such a great performance?
Nick Heidfeld: It was just brilliant. Qualifying finally went well again, and in the race everything slotted into place. The team did everything right and I also avoided making any mistakes. It?s always satisfying when passing moves come off; winning a head-to-head battle fair and square is as good as it gets. And if you can overtake two other guys in the same move twice in the same race, the thrill is that much greater. Especially as it was a Ferrari and a McLaren I got past on one of those occasions.

Q: A lot of people complain that overtaking is impossible in Formula One racing. You provide regular evidence to the contrary - under the toughest conditions as well. How do you decide whether to dive into a gap? Are you braver than other drivers?
NH: I actually find overtaking easiest in tricky conditions. The differences between the individual drivers are just greater in the rain. Plus, different drivers take different lines through the corners, which naturally helps with overtaking.

Q: You referred to your problems in qualifying. Are they now behind you?
NH: What is certain is that our work has paid off. The team has given me tremendous support. We conducted a complicated analysis of the situation and took measures to enable me to make better use of the tyres for a single hot lap. As an outsider it?s tempting to think that all it takes to get the tyres up to optimum temperature is a couple of burnouts. But that only heats up the contact area of the rear tyres. It is a complex issue, and the Barcelona test in June already produced a degree of progress. We undid some of the good work with our poor performance overall at Magny-Cours, but for me it was important to see that I was back up to the same level as my team mate in the second period of qualifying. That was the case again at Silverstone. However, we will not be easing off now; I?m sure that there is a lot more we can do to further improve my performance in qualifying.

Q: Have you feared for your place in the team over recent weeks?
NH: No, that would have been the wrong way to approach the situation. I was
concerned about my qualifying performance. But I also knew that I hadn?t suddenly forgotten how to drive a car and that my race speed was still good. The critical thing for me is to get the tyres up to temperature in qualifying.

Q: Why do you perform so well in the wet?
NH: I used to enjoy racing in the rain in my karting days, and then in the various classes up from there as well. The car slides and reacts totally differently, and you have to do everything with much greater sensitivity - steering, braking, accelerating. Getting to grips with all of these factors is so much fun. However, if you are not in the lead there is another aspect of racing in the rain that makes things rather unpredictable: the lack of visibility. We sit so low to the ground and the Formula One cars whip up so much water that you can hardly see a thing in the spray - neither the pools of water nor the other cars. You really can?t compare it with driving on the road.

Q: How did your two days of testing go at Hockenheim?
NH: We were fortunate that the weather turned out to be better than forecast, which meant I was able to complete more laps than I was expecting in the dry. We tested a few new aerodynamic and mechanical components at Hockenheim, both for the German Grand Prix specifically and looking further ahead. That was our priority during the test; the plan was in no way to set the fastest possible lap times. As I cannot judge what kind of programme the other teams were running, the lap times from the test do not tell us all that much. However, I would have liked more time to work out an ideal set-up for the race at Hockenheim.

Q: What is your plan for the German Grand Prix?
NH: Clearly, it gives me an extra push to go into my home Grand Prix on the back of a podium finish in the last race. I want to keep heading in the same direction - get a good position on the grid and do as well as possible in the race itself. I?m really looking forward to what is BMW?s home Grand Prix as well as mine personally. Plus, Hockenheim always attracts a particularly large number of fans from Switzerland as well, and I?m determined to put on a great performance for them.

ITNurse

Another great performance would be welcome Nick!!

MiamiPhill

Never watched this before but it's quite good, enjoy.
http://www.formula1.com/services/play_video.html

JetBlack5OC

Very nice, great find

pinguhk

nice clips

MiamiPhill

BMW Motorsport Director Mario Theissen believes the adoption of Kinetic Energy Recovery Systems (KERS) next year will see Formula One racing assume a leading role in the advancement of hybrid technologies for everyday road cars.

From the start of next season, the Formula One regulations allow for the use of brake energy regeneration systems to increase the output and efficiency of the cars. Like the majority of their rivals, BMW Sauber are working flat out on their KERS, but Theissen feels it will be not just the F1 drivers who benefit, but also the average motorist.

?At BMW we have always used the Formula One project as a technology laboratory for series production - with KERS this approach takes on a whole new dimension,? said Theissen. ?KERS will see Formula One take on a pioneering role for series production technologies going forward.

?F1 will give a baptism of fire to innovative concepts whose service life and reliability have not yet reached the level required for series production vehicles, and their development will be driven forward at full speed.?

KERS will enable the regeneration and storage of braking energy, which will then be available on tap as an extra source of power under acceleration to complement the output of a Formula One car?s V8 engine. Flexibility in the regulations will allow for either electric or mechanical solutions, with BMW Sauber opting for the former.

The 2009 BMW Sauber F1.09 will be equipped with a hybrid system consisting of a combination of electric motor and generator, the requisite power electronics and an energy storage module. In accordance with the regulations, this will store enough energy under braking to provide an additional 60 kW of output over around 6.5 seconds of acceleration.

BMW already use a brake energy regeneration system in a large number of their production cars. Although their Formula One KERS will not be dissimilar in principle, its efficiency and packaging - the complete system will weigh under 40 kg - should be in a different league.

?We are standing at the threshold between a conventional package of engine and independent transmission and an integrated drive system. The power density of the KERS components will far exceed that of today?s hybrid vehicles,? added Theissen.

MiamiPhill

Sebastian Vettel to join Red Bull for 2009....read http://www.formula1.com/news/headlines/2008/7/8098.html

MiamiPhill

German GP Qualifying results.

1. Hamilton (McLaren)

2. Massa (Ferrari)

3. Kovalainen (McLaren)

4. Trulli (Toyota)

5. Alonso (Renault)

6. Raikkonen (Ferrari)

7. Kubica (BMW Sauber)

8. Webber (Red Bull)

BetterMakeWay

Disappointing qualy ! I'm telling you guys, Nick needs to go (the sooner the better), heck better for kubica also. Bring on Alonso

formuleuno

Be careful what you wish for with Alonso. Awesome driver, but as we've seen doesnt like a competitive teammate! I root for anybody but Lewis...the most overhyped, overexposed driver in F1 history. Put him in a Honda and see what he does.