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Hailing from the German town of Monchengladbach, Nick Heidfeld was just shy of his fifth birthday when he made his first tentative steps towards a racing career. Quickly growing tired of competing against his two brothers in motocross, the young Heidfeld headed to the kart track. Beating his father to the finish line on his very first outing, it was clear his precocious talent was destined for greater things.
Soon his parents considered him worthy of a reward, and bought the then eight year-old Heidfeld a kart of his own. After gradually raising his profile in local club events and national competitions, Heidfeld secured a drive in the 1993 Formula A world championship in Laval. Although he didn’t make a huge impression, his natural speed won him enough recognition to earn a drive in the German Formula Ford 1600 class.
Eight wins from nine races saw him clinch the 1994 title - an achievement he repeated in ‘95 in the more difficult International German 1800 class. Now aged 19, Heidfeld then became the youngest-ever competitor in German Formula Three. In 1996 he notched up three wins to end his first season in third. He took the title in his second year, when he also began testing with McLaren, thanks to backing from the team’s German engine partners, Mercedes.
Over the next two years, Heidfeld focused his attentions on the International Formula 3000 championship, as well as continuing to test for McLaren. Second place in his first season turned into complete domination in his second, as he scored four wins to take the 1999 title. He also had several tests with the Prost Formula One team, who subsequently signed him as a race driver for 2000.
Things, however, did not go to plan. Despite impressing with his intellectual approach, Heidfeld was scuppered by an unreliable car. Failing to finish 11 of 17 races that season, the German failed to score a point. It was easily his worst campaign since launching his single-seater racing career seven years earlier. However, a disheartened Heidfeld refused to give up and headed to Sauber for 2001. The Swiss team were on the up and Heidfeld’s faith was rewarded with his very first podium - a third place at that year’s Brazilian Grand Prix. It was to be his best finish for the team.
Over the next two seasons his points haul dwindled from 12 in 2001 to just 6 in 2003. A move to Jordan for 2004 didn’t improve matters - eighth in Canada and seventh in Monaco were his only point-scoring results. Then he found a new home at BMW Williams, winning a 2005 seat next to Mark Webber, and things started to improve. That year he achieved his first pole position and took two second-placed finishes. When BMW split with Williams ahead of the 2006 season, Heidfeld followed and returned to the now BMW-owned Sauber team.
Despite being pitted against former world champion Jacques Villeneuve, Heidfeld emerged as the team’s lead driver, scoring 23 of their 36 points. The arrival of upstart rookie Robert Kubica as Villeneuve’s replacement late in the season forced Heidfeld to raise his game - he qualified in the top ten in all of the last six races and clinched the BMW-Sauber partnership’s first podium with a spectacular third place in Hungary. He was retained (along with Kubica) for ’07 and another season packed with near-faultless performances established him as ‘best of the rest’ behind the Ferrari and McLaren drivers.
2008 proved a tougher proposition. Although as quick and consistent as ever in races (four podiums and no retirements), patchy qualifying form meant he was increasingly overshadowed by a blossoming Kubica, finishing sixth in the drivers’ championship to the Pole’s fourth.
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