Heidfeld fastest for Renault at Jerez
#1
02-12-2011, 07:12 PM
Heidfeld fastest for Renault at Jerez
Heidfeld fastest for Renault at Jerez - GPUpdate.net
Nick Heidfeld ended day three of the Jerez test at the top of the timesheets, with the German driver making his bid to claim the vacant seat at Renault. The Enstone-based outfit has decided to evaluate Heidfeld at the Spanish circuit, in order to determine whether to give the ex-Sauber man a race seat for the upcoming 2011 campaign.
Due to Poland's Robert Kubica being sidelined for what is expected to be the majority if not the whole of the upcoming season, Heidfeld’s strong performance on Saturday could prove decisive when the team makes its final driver choice ahead of the season-opener in Bahrain. The 33-year-old driver set a time of 1:20.361, just fractions slower than Michael Schumacher's best time on Friday.
Testing commenced under a slight layer of fog today, with no rain threat in the Andalusian surroundings of Jerez. Saturday also saw the arrival of Fernando Alonso, with Spanish fans turning up to the circuit en masse. Due to the large number of spectators, venue organisers decided to open more grandstands around the track.
Schumacher, who was fastest in his MGP-W02 on Friday, finished the day in third place, almost seven tenths of a second behind Heidfeld. Lewis Hamilton was fourth, after a lack of spare parts meant that his MP4-26 spent much of the afternoon in the garage. Fifth place went to Kamui Kobayashi, with the 24-year-old enduring two technical issues during the day, causing a red-flag situation on both occasions.
Williams also went through problems today, with Rubens Barrichello spending a large amount of time in the garage because of problems with the FW33’s KERS unit. Sébastien Buemi and Paul di Resta also caused red-flags in their respective 2011 cars, with both drivers enduring technical issues on Saturday.
Buemi ended the day in seventh place at the wheel of his Toro Rosso, just behind world champion Sebastian Vettel. Lotus finished the day in eighth, with Heikki Kovalainen performing well, finishing ahead of Barrichello and Di Resta. Jérôme d'Ambrosio ended the day at the bottom of the timing screens, and was a full 2.5 seconds slower than di Resta’s Force India.
Driver - Team - Best Lap time - Laps
Heidfeld - Lotus-Renault - 1:20.361 - 86
Alonso - Ferrari - 1:20.493 - 131
Schumacher - Mercedes - 1:21.054 - 114
Hamilton - McLaren - 1:21.099 - 36
Kobayashi - Sauber - 1:21.242 - 84
Vettel - Red Bull Racing - 1:21.574 - 98
Buemi - Toro Rosso - 1:21.681 - 92
Kovalainen - Team Lotus - 1:21.711 - 61
Barrichello - Williams - 1:22.227 - 99
di Resta - Force India - 1:22.945 - 64
d'Ambrosio - Virgin Racing - 1:25.471 - 72
Nick Heidfeld ended day three of the Jerez test at the top of the timesheets, with the German driver making his bid to claim the vacant seat at Renault. The Enstone-based outfit has decided to evaluate Heidfeld at the Spanish circuit, in order to determine whether to give the ex-Sauber man a race seat for the upcoming 2011 campaign.
Due to Poland's Robert Kubica being sidelined for what is expected to be the majority if not the whole of the upcoming season, Heidfeld’s strong performance on Saturday could prove decisive when the team makes its final driver choice ahead of the season-opener in Bahrain. The 33-year-old driver set a time of 1:20.361, just fractions slower than Michael Schumacher's best time on Friday.
Testing commenced under a slight layer of fog today, with no rain threat in the Andalusian surroundings of Jerez. Saturday also saw the arrival of Fernando Alonso, with Spanish fans turning up to the circuit en masse. Due to the large number of spectators, venue organisers decided to open more grandstands around the track.
Schumacher, who was fastest in his MGP-W02 on Friday, finished the day in third place, almost seven tenths of a second behind Heidfeld. Lewis Hamilton was fourth, after a lack of spare parts meant that his MP4-26 spent much of the afternoon in the garage. Fifth place went to Kamui Kobayashi, with the 24-year-old enduring two technical issues during the day, causing a red-flag situation on both occasions.
Williams also went through problems today, with Rubens Barrichello spending a large amount of time in the garage because of problems with the FW33’s KERS unit. Sébastien Buemi and Paul di Resta also caused red-flags in their respective 2011 cars, with both drivers enduring technical issues on Saturday.
Buemi ended the day in seventh place at the wheel of his Toro Rosso, just behind world champion Sebastian Vettel. Lotus finished the day in eighth, with Heikki Kovalainen performing well, finishing ahead of Barrichello and Di Resta. Jérôme d'Ambrosio ended the day at the bottom of the timing screens, and was a full 2.5 seconds slower than di Resta’s Force India.
Driver - Team - Best Lap time - Laps
Heidfeld - Lotus-Renault - 1:20.361 - 86
Alonso - Ferrari - 1:20.493 - 131
Schumacher - Mercedes - 1:21.054 - 114
Hamilton - McLaren - 1:21.099 - 36
Kobayashi - Sauber - 1:21.242 - 84
Vettel - Red Bull Racing - 1:21.574 - 98
Buemi - Toro Rosso - 1:21.681 - 92
Kovalainen - Team Lotus - 1:21.711 - 61
Barrichello - Williams - 1:22.227 - 99
di Resta - Force India - 1:22.945 - 64
d'Ambrosio - Virgin Racing - 1:25.471 - 72
#2
02-12-2011, 07:17 PM
I guess the debate over who fills Robert's spot is over.
I have never been a Heidfeld fan. But this just made a lot of sense for the team.
He will be a solid driver who will give good feedback on the car.
But he will not score a championship point.
I have never been a Heidfeld fan. But this just made a lot of sense for the team.
He will be a solid driver who will give good feedback on the car.
But he will not score a championship point.
#5
02-13-2011, 01:06 AM
Well that settles that.
Contrary to what Dana thinks, I'd be willing to bet that Heidfeld scores some point this season. He won't ever be a true contender for the WDC, but he'll score a few points, I'm sure.
Contrary to what Dana thinks, I'd be willing to bet that Heidfeld scores some point this season. He won't ever be a true contender for the WDC, but he'll score a few points, I'm sure.
#6
02-13-2011, 03:29 AM
Im confident Heidfeld will score a good amount of points as well. We will see, but it looks likes hes F1 hungry...
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