Nick Heidfeld

Nick Lars Heidfeld (born 10 May 1977) is a German professional racing driver.

Despite scoring regular podium finishes in with Williams, and in and with BMW Sauber, Heidfeld never won a race after debuting in Formula One in.

Heidfeld currently holds two Formula One records; most podium finishes without a Grand Prix win (13, shared with Lando Norris), and the most second-place finishes without a win (8).

Heidfeld was born in Mönchengladbach, West Germany on 10 May 1977, and began racing karts at the age of 11 in 1988.

In 1994 he moved into the German Formula Ford series, gaining widespread attention by winning 8 of the 9 races to take the title that season.

In 1995 he won the German International Formula Ford 1800 Championship, and came second in the Zetec Cup.

This led to a drive in the German Formula Three Championship for 1996, where he finished third overall, after taking 3 wins.

He entered the end of the season Macau Grand Prix and won the first heat of the race, attracting the attention of compatriot Norbert Haug, who later signed him up for the West Competition team.

The following year Heidfeld won the German F3 Championship for Bertram Schäfer Racing, with support from McLaren/West, including a win at the Monaco Grand Prix Formula Three support race.

In 1998, he won three races and was runner-up in the International Formula 3000 championship, with the West Competition team.

At the final race of the season he was demoted to the back of the grid from pole position, after his team used non-compliant fuel.

He finished the race ninth and out of the points, losing the championship by seven points to Juan Pablo Montoya.

During that season, he was also the official test driver for the McLaren-Mercedes Formula One team.

In 1999, he won the International Formula 3000 Championship.

That year he also took the official track record at the Goodwood Festival of Speed which stood for 20 years.

He was also a member of the Mercedes squad that raced at the 1999 24 Hours of Le Mans, but the team withdrew after the Mercedes-Benz CLR back-flipped on the Mulsanne Straight while Mark Webber and Peter Dumbreck were driving.

Heidfeld was signed as a race driver for the Prost Grand Prix F1 team for the 2000 season, alongside Formula One veteran Jean Alesi.

Heidfeld struggled with his new car and suffered a string of retirements, as well as colliding with his teammate on more than one occasion.

He departed Prost at the end of that season, before signing a three-year contract with Sauber for 2001.

He was partnered with then rookie driver Kimi Räikkönen.

Heidfeld scored his first podium with a third-place finish in the Brazilian Grand Prix.

After the announcement of Mika Häkkinen's retirement, many thought that Heidfeld would replace him in the McLaren-Mercedes team, as he had Mercedes backing and had outscored the much more inexperienced Räikkönen by three points over the year.

However, the McLaren seat went to Räikkönen, and Heidfeld stayed with Sauber for 2002 and 2003, where he racked up a number of points finishes.

In 2002 he outperformed another rookie teammate, Felipe Massa, but was then beaten by his more experienced fellow countryman, Heinz-Harald Frentzen, in 2003.

At the end of the 2003 season, Heidfeld was replaced at the Sauber team by Jordan's Giancarlo Fisichella and looked to be without a race seat for the 2004 season.

However, after impressing during a series of preseason tests, it was announced that Heidfeld would race with the financially strapped Jordan team, alongside rookie Giorgio Pantano.

The EJ14 was an upgrade of the previous season's uncompetitive EJ13 and proved slow.

Despite this, Heidfeld often outperformed the car, finishing ahead of more competitive vehicles.

He finished seventh at the Monaco Grand Prix and eighth at the Canadian Grand Prix and finished the season with three points.

During the winter of 2004–2005, Heidfeld tested with the Williams team, in a 'shootout' against Antônio Pizzonia for the second race seat alongside Mark Webber.

At the Williams launch on 31 January 2005, it was announced that Heidfeld would be the race driver for the team in 2005, replacing the McLaren-bound Juan Pablo Montoya.

He performed well throughout the season, often finishing ahead of teammate Webber.

At the seventh race of the 2005 season at the Nürburgring circuit, his home Grand Prix, Heidfeld took his first and only pole position.

In Monaco he finished second, which he equalled at the Nürburgring in the same season.

Heidfeld missed the Italian and Belgian Grands Prix due to injuries suffered in a testing accident.

Scheduled to come back for Brazil, he was injured again when hit by a motorbike when out cycling, and therefore forced to sit out the rest of the season.

Heidfeld gained a contract with his then Williams' engine supplier, BMW, when they bought the Sauber team (BMW and Sauber merger) and entered Formula One as BMW Sauber for the 2006 season, replacing Felipe Massa who was bound for Ferrari.

During 2006 Heidfeld scored points several times for his new team.

In 2011, Heidfeld raced in Formula One for the Renault team as a replacement for the injured Robert Kubica, his former BMW Sauber teammate, before being replaced by Bruno Senna.

He last drove for the Rebellion Racing team in the FIA World Endurance Championship and for Mahindra Racing Formula E Team in Formula E.