GPWizard F1 Forum
F1 News & Discussions => General F1 Discussion => Topic started by: John S on August 22, 2011, 11:53:44 PM
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Senna to replace Nick Heidfeld for final eight races says Eddie Jordan, breaking the story on the BBC website.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/formula_one/14624084.stm (http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/formula_one/14624084.stm)
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Renault was hoping Nick would be closer to Kubica than he appears to be. The fact that Petrov, who is not highly regarded in the paddock, has held his own has downgraded Nick rather than boosting Vitaly. With a solid amount of funding, Senna becomes an asset, especially if he can match Petrov. I think Heidfeld is done in F1. Of course you do have to consider the source, Jordan is a bit of a rumor monger. :D
Lonny
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I guess it was only a matter of time. I liked Nick, but the media didn't, and the fact that he only had occasional strokes of brilliance let him down. Off to NASCAR :DD
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Swift Nick has not been so swift in the Renault but then the Renault has not been that swift either. Comparison will always be done against Kubica but that is quite pointless.
If Bruno Senna gets beaten, assuming he gets the drive, by Petrov Nick will get his swift title back. :good:
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I agree about the comparison to Kubica. He never raced this year's car, so there's no way to know what he could have done with it.
I've always liked Heidfeld and hoped for better from him. Still, I hope Eddie is off the mark on this one. I guess it's just another example of F1 Rule 1: Money Talks!
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I'm sure it was a hard decision.
No one this year has had a more explosive performance than Nick!
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This isn't a big surprise to me.I have never been
a big fan of Nick,maybe that scuzzy beard had
something to do with it
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This isn't a big surprise to me.I have never been
a big fan of Nick,maybe that scuzzy beard had
something to do with it
Must not be a fan of Brawn or Button then...if there were ever two guys who had 'wish I could' beards, it was them :P :P
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It just seems to me with drivers needing sponsorship
they'd want to have a well groomed appearance.
Not everyone likes the grunge look,me included
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F1: Heidfeld Pressure ‘Bullying’ - Jordan
Eddie Jordan suspects Renault team management are guilty of "bullying".
The former F1 team owner and boss, now a pundit for British television, is referring to Eric Boullier and Gerard Lopez's outspoken criticism of Nick Heidfeld's results and leadership qualities.
German veteran Heidfeld replaced injured regular Robert Kubica this season, but now Renault test drivers Bruno Senna and Romain Grosjean are being linked with the seat.
Irishman Jordan told Sport Bild he has a theory about the pressure being put on Heidfeld.
"It could even be described as bullying," he said.
"They probably want to wear him down so he throws in the towel voluntarily."
Jordan, however, has a high opinion of 34-year-old Heidfeld.
"For me, he is Mr Consistency. I know this because Nick drove for me for a year. 2004 was a very difficult year for Jordan financially, and we could not give him the car that he deserved.
"The same is true also at the moment of the Lotus-Renault," he added.
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I think Nick has been something of a scapegoat for Renault this year, the fact that he was blamed for the Hungary fire suggests that. Nick was never Kimi quick or Lewis exciting, but he was, is a good solid racing driver who can deliver the results. Its been said in the past that Frank Williams never forgives any racing driver he has for not being Alan Jones, I think Eric Boullier and Renault can't forgive Nick for not being Robert. Bruno isn't going to deliver performances from the car that Nick couldn't and neither when he replaces Bruno will Romain. Renault have to realise that at the momnet Robert isn't available but maybe, just maybe they have the best available substitute.
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I quite like Nick but Renault can't be blamed for looking to a younger driver that may bring more points (plus a chunk of personal cash).
I think Nick is similar to Button; when the car is perfect he is super-quick. However, the Renault is far from perfect so they need someone who can drive round the problems. Something the most famous Senna could do. I hope Bruno has some of his uncle's flair.
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It sounds like Heidfeld isn't going to go quietly. Bring forth the lawyers!
http://www.planetf1.com/news/3213/7121119/Heidfeld-Ready-To-Sue-Renault (http://www.planetf1.com/news/3213/7121119/Heidfeld-Ready-To-Sue-Renault)
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If he sues Renault, this really will be his swansong. No other team will hire a journeyman who tries to take down his team. Have a nice life Nick.
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He is not trying to take down his team, just trying to safeguard his future. If he has a contract then why not try to make sure the team stick to it. I'm sure if he had decided he was jumping ship in favour of another team Mr Boullier and Mr Lopez would have wasted no time going legal.
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I agree. We've talked many times here about how contracts in F1 don't seem to be worth the paper they're printed on.
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I think Jean Alesi proved that going back as far as 1990/91. He had contracts signed with Williams and Ferrari, and some believe Tyrrell too.
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If Renault were talking about bringing in Senna next season if Kubica doesn't come back, that's one thing, but Heidfeld agreed to drop everything he may have had on his plate to join them when they needed him, and I guess the deal was until Kubica returns or the end of the season.
Now, a handfull of races later they want to ditch him in exchange for money? I'd go legal too.
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It would appear Nick has reached terms with the team, Renault GP has now confimed Senna as his replacement for Spa.
There has been talk for a while about Renault GP's shortfall in budget, denied of course by Boullier and by Renault Sport when the subject of late payment for engines arose. However let's suppose that the money worries are real, then sidelining Nick is perhaps not only an easy but maybe a necessary way to try to balance the books.
The big problem, as I see it in this hypothetical scenario, is not paying off Nick but getting Senna's sponsors to pay the sort of money required to cover the severance and more besides to put the team on an even keel. I seem to recall that Hispania had a problem getting the money promised when Bruno was in their car, the amounts Renault GP are looking for will probably be a long way in excess of the HRT deal.
Perhaps Lopez and Boullier are Looking in the wrong direction for a pay driver, Red Bull just might fancy seeing Ricciardo in a proper midfield car. ;)
They might even ante up as well for Nick to join Luizzi at the back of the grid. - Job done :D
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According to Bruno he is only confirmed for Spa and Monza. I think after that the seat is Romain Grosjean's, he is a favourite of Eric Boullier's. This chopping and changing actually does very little to promote Renault as a desirable team, or anything like a top team, indeed it kind of looks a bit HRT-ish
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It doesn't look like Nick has reached terms with his team. The legal action is going ahead with a hearing in 3wks. Perhaps with the legal action, they couldn't confirm Senna for more than that.
http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/93943 (http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/93943)
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Since when did a drivers contract guarantee a race seat, ask Kimi, all you can expect is to make a team honour it's financial commitment on the deal. The only way I can see the actual race seat and not the money being 'of the essence' in a contract is if a driver gave up a better offer, from another team with a faster car, to drive this particular team's car.
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Heidfeld showed up at Spa in gear and ready to drive, but was of course shut out of the team. If there is a doubt that he will get paid then maybe legal action is proper, but even if he gets back in the car, who will force Renault to give him full support? As lond as Renault pays his fee, I think they can put anyone in the car they want to. Joe Saward says Heidfeld intends to argue he shouldn't be replaced on performance.
http://joesaward.wordpress.com/ (http://joesaward.wordpress.com/)
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Well Bruno has just stacked the car so Heidfeld might be back in the seat sooner than he expected! :DD
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They just talked to Nick on the BBC during 2nd practice. He basically just said "no comment" due to the ongoing legal actions. He did say that he and Bruno are still on good terms.
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They just talked to Nick on the BBC during 2nd practice. He basically just said "no comment" due to the ongoing legal actions. He did say that he and Bruno are still on good terms.
You can hardly expect two men competing for one of 24 race seats to have hard feelings over who gets it. Indeed, Senna and Heidfeld are two of the few people on Earth who can understand what the other man is going through!
Flavio might be a monstrous bully, but I think he ran the team with a little more class than this.
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It looks like Renault does want young Senna for the rest of the season:
http://www.autoweek.com/article/20110825/F1/110829910?utm_source=DailyDrive20110826&utm_medium=enewsletter&utm_term=missedarticle6more&utm_content=20110825-Formula_One__Lotus_Renault_wants_to_keep_Senna_for_remainder_of_season&utm_campaign=awdailydrive (http://www.autoweek.com/article/20110825/F1/110829910?utm_source=DailyDrive20110826&utm_medium=enewsletter&utm_term=missedarticle6more&utm_content=20110825-Formula_One__Lotus_Renault_wants_to_keep_Senna_for_remainder_of_season&utm_campaign=awdailydrive)
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To use your expression Cos, I think Nick is being thrown under the bus by Boullier. I wonder how long Éric is actually going to be at the helm of Renault. If they want someone to motivate the engineering department, it should be an engineer, not a driver (a la Newey or Brawn). Throwing Senna in the car at this stage of the season means they don't care at all about where they finish in the WCC, and that might just have the boys over at Genii a bit nervous when they start looking over the balance sheets for next year's budget.
Whatever they say, Nick is ahead of Petrov in the points, and finished in the points more often than Petrov this season, and had a pile of bad luck (including almost being blown up) so something doesn't jibe with what he's saying.
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When Kubica did the first tests on the car it seemed very quick, then they got 2 podiums in 2 races and I think their expectations went sky high as it looked like their trick diffuser had closed the gap to the top teams. But they couldn't develop the car at the pace of the big three and they have slipped down the order pretty steadily. They are blaming Nick for this saying he didn't provide "leadership" for the engineers. That is what they were looking for more than anything. If Nick can't develop the car, it's easier to fire him than to fire the whole design and engineering staff.
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I still reckon it's about money, or rather the shortage of it. These supposed failings by Nick are being touted in an effort to limit his legal claim.
IMO Genii have factored in their constructors championship position, 5th and 31 points ahead of Sauber, to calculate that they can take the extra income from a pay driver without losing any prize money at season end.
Next year's budget should not be such a big problem if Kubica returns to the car, however carrying losses from this year will possibly make even that scenario untenable.
It may not be just Nick's fight for survival in F1 that we are witnessing, but Renault GP's as well.
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I wonder if Kobi and Perez lose a bit of their bad luck, and Petrov is the only point maker if Sauber and Renault don't swap positions by the end of the season...meaning even less money for Genii.
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Well as Senna put the Lotus Renault 7th on the grid and ahead of Petrov, perhaps we are under rating him.
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Well as Senna put the Lotus Renault 7th on the grid and ahead of Petrov, perhaps we are under rating him.
That's what my first thought was.
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And your second thought, when he played ricochet in the first corner, eventually finishing 13th to Petrov's 9th? Hmmm ;)
He's lucky he didn't take out half the field with that move...and right in front of the eventual 2nd place Webber - stuff like that should really teach Webber to work on his starts a bit more.
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Well as Senna put the Lotus Renault 7th on the grid and ahead of Petrov, perhaps we are under rating him.
I thought the weather may have played into
his qualifying
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And your second thought, when he played ricochet in the first corner, eventually finishing 13th to Petrov's 9th? Hmmm ;)
He's lucky he didn't take out half the field with that move...and right in front of the eventual 2nd place Webber - stuff like that should really teach Webber to work on his starts a bit more.
Webber says his anti-stall kicked in at the start. Vettel's did too according to the data, but kicked out immediately while Webber's remained engaged. they're working on it.
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It is a big joke that Senna is praised even when he end up achieving P13, 5 places behind Petrov, while Heidfeld was criticized eventhough he achieved points for almost every race that he completed, besides outperforming Petrov in most races.
As for leadership, was Kubica able to develop the car to challenge the front runners last season?
I can only conclude that the replacement of Heidfeld with Senna is all about money and has nothing to do with performance. >:D
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I should be Senna end up 4 places behind Petrov, not 5 places behind.