Nick Heidfeld has been an integral part of BMW’s works Formula 1 team since it took over Sauber in 2006.

Yet the German manufacturer took its time confirming him for 2009, as his failure to match team-mate Robert Kubica and a series of depressing qualifying positions rang alarm bells.

Heidfeld has turned his career around plenty of times in the past, though, and a stronger end to 2008 means he stays on board for the season when BMW is adamant that it must challenge for the title.

A quiet character with a reputation for hard work, Heidfeld is generally regarded as a reliable points-gatherer rather than a potential champion.

But in recent years he has belied his calm exterior with some feisty drives and very bold overtaking moves, so he should not be underestimated.


Career log

Having arrived in F1 with a glittering junior racing CV and Mercedes’ seal of approval, Heidfeld’s dispiriting, point-less, rookie season with the abysmal 2000 Prost-Peugeot was hard to swallow.

A lesser driver might have been crushed by the situation, but Heidfeld restored his reputation by leading Sauber to a best-ever fourth in the constructors’ standings in 2001.

He was then deeply hurt when McLaren-Mercedes snapped up his team-mate Kimi Raikkonen to replace Mika Hakkinen even though Heidfeld had out-scored the Finn and been a Mercedes protégé in his teens.

After two quieter seasons with Sauber, 2004 saw Heidfeld switch to the ailing Jordan team, where his tenacious approach took him to a couple of unlikely points finishes in an outdated chassis.

At last his achievements in uncompetitive cars began to get noticed, and Heidfeld beat Antonio Pizzonia to a 2005 Williams-BMW drive after a tense testing shoot-out.

Williams was in the middle of a slump, but it was still in better shape than any of Heidfeld's previous squads, and he grabbed the opportunity by taking three podium finishes and his first pole.

Injuries from a cycling accident sidelined Heidfeld in late August, and during his layoff he signed for BMW's new factory team – which brought his Williams sojourn to an early end.

BMW Sauber proved to be Heidfeld’s ideal home, and a steady development season paved the way for a breakthrough 2007 campaign that saw the German snapping at the leaders’ heels, outperforming team-mate Kubica, and leading his team to second in the championship.

Kubica struck back last year, though, and despite four podium finishes, it was generally a much less impressive season for the overshadowed Heidfeld.


The early years

Ironically given his current involvement with BMW, Heidfeld’s path to F1 was bankrolled by the company’s arch-rival Mercedes.

He caught the manufacturer’s eye while in Formula Ford, then proceeded to win the 1997 German Formula 3 title while impressing in regular F1 tests for McLaren.

This prompted McLaren-Mercedes to create a junior team in Formula 3000 especially for Heidfeld.

He narrowly lost the title to Juan Pablo Montoya in his rookie season, before crushing the opposition in 1999.