Heifeld to Jordan?

S

SALEEN S7R

Guest
Source: crash.net

Jordan boss Eddie Jordan has revealed that Nick Heidfeld would be 'welcome' to join his team, should he be forced to leave Team Sauber-Petronas at the end of 2003.

Jordan, speaking to German newspaper, Die Welt, commented: "Heidfeld is always an option. If Sauber do not want him then he is welcome here."

Heidfeld has scored just two points this season, and according to F1 insiders the German could be ousted next year at Sauber by returnee Felipe Massa - who now tests for Ferrari - and current Jordan driver, Giancarlo Fisichella.

Jordan are also said to be considering a switch to Mercedes engines in 2004, despite a contract with Ford, and as such a German driver, could go down well.

EJ added: "I have spoken with Mercedes and they appear to have the best conditions."

Watch this space for further updates...

ENDS:/

Sounds like this would be a good thing, both for Heidfield and Jordan, Nick seems to have lost his way over recent years. I belive hes still a great young driver and is capable of turning out some great results given the right chance. Hopefully if he does move to Jordan he can show what hes capable of. You dont win a F3000 title unless ur very very good after all.
 
I have mixed feelings about Heidfield. I agree with you about how he has lost his way. He came to Sauber when they were that fourth team in the standings and always had a strong and reliable car, but nowdays Sauber struggles at the back. Frentzen the other driver, is a very good driver and I believe gets the absolute best out of that car, so Heidfield isn't exactly on a slump for pace or anything. He needs a team that can give him that reliable car and get him some great results, such as a podium. I also think that McLarens contract for him to drive and then have rookie Raikkonen take that from him had to have crushed his chances to be successful in F1. A move to Jordan could be good only if they get those Mercedes engines because otherwise they are no better than where he came from.
 
To be honest with u, I dont know whether ur aware or not but Peter Sauber has almost got his brand new wind tunnel completed. The tunnel is the largest of its kind in the world, and is state of the art. With this the team should make a big leap forwards. Of course we wont know properly until 2004, but a few development parts might be on the car in time for Suzuka. Depending on when the completion of the tunnel is. Theres no reason at all as to why Sauber should then be at the back, they will have good powerplants (the very latest spec Ferrari engines - well one evolution behind but not much differnce) so providing they get a couple of decent drivers in for next season the team should do well again.

It seems likely that Felippe Massa may re-join Sauber, Ferrari are keen for this to happen so that Sauber can groom him as a potential Ferrari star one day. It also woudnt do relations any harm at all between Sauber and Ferrari, a realtionship which Im sure is very important to Peter Sauber at the moment. Since Massa has been testing for Ferrari I belive he has progressed signifcantly, and is probably ready to make a return to F1 in a driving role. Hopefully if he does re-join Sauber he can do a good solid job this time. We already know hes very fast, if not a little rash at times.

Back to the topic of Heidfield though. I read in Autosport Magazine this week that Frentzen is considering his future in F1 at the moment, he may leave Sauber at the end of the year and stick to development work with a top F1 team. Hes 37 (I think, if not 38) and is past his best, thats not to say hes a bad driver because he obviously isnt. But when u know ur past ur best I imagine u lose motivation. If Frentzen does leave we could well see Heidfield kept at Sauber and Massa re-joining the team. It should be a very good year for Sauber next year, I dont think they will ever be back up there on the pace though. Now with Renault, Toyota and Jaguar starting to make real progress they are going to find it very hard. Still I see no reason as to why Sauber cant beat the BAR's, Jordans, Minardi's. Rather than fighting amongst them.
 
I predict it will be Nick Heidfeld last season in F1 next year,it doesn't matter though he goes to Jordan,he will not be better driver there ;)
 
I dont know about this being his last year, but he does need to get his act together I agree with u there. But if he gets focoused again like he was a couple of years ago hes capable of doing a great job. If he keeps/gets a seat in F1 next year then he needs to make the most of it. Or else 2004 probably will be his last year in F1. Having said that I think he will prove his critics wrong..
 
I think Nick going to Jordan is a given for a few reasons. He's German and thus that somewhat attracts Mercedes as a supplier, especially since they did bring Nick up through the ranks, plus Germany is the largest economy in Europe, and well Eddie needs sponsors. Saubers tunnel wont do a thing for any 2004 car. Well known fact all 2004 cars are already being designed, Renualt is said to have already started on tis 2005 as they run two design teams (like what McLaren does now with the 17D and 18A). Plus it takes time to calibrate a tunnel, hence Toyota's aero problems. Brunner himself recently admitted this is why it has taken so long for the Toy's to finally start developing well aero wise. So a W-T doesnt mean instant help. Keep in mind Ferrari is so advanced in their aero program it would take years for Sauber just to get to that point. When Ferrari's new aero improvments are left to minute slats in barge boards and little things like their new rear wings you know the aero guys are now going for hundreths of a second, not tenths like most teams.

I have a hard time thinking Fisi wants a Sauber ride, but who knows. They are more finacially stable than Jordan and appear to be doing better long term wise. I just hope he isnt going because of Ferrari aspirations. I certainly expect to see Massa back and Heinz finally retiring.

But Nick is a good driver. He's like a Coulthard, hes fast, hes a company man, hard worker, does his job, but thats it. He will never be a champ, but would be a good piece to have on a championship team IMO.
 
Heidfeld to Jordan. It still doesnt make sense. Yea for Jordan to pick up sponsership makes sense, but for Heidfeld to take a step down in his career is stupid. Thats almost like Micheal going to Minardi. Great move! not. But anyways I think that it wont happen. Nick will be held tight at Sauber or he could always not get an F1 seat at all. In my opinion, the whole F1 paddock has seen him and I think as far as skill goes, he is lacking. He needs to go to CART or something. Open up a seat for someone like Kiesa to get a better ride.

As for Saubers development work. Yes it is true that thier car is pretty much done being on the drawing board, as is all of the other F1 teams, but none the less they will still make aero improvements by the end of 2004. I knew Renault had two design teams but I didnt know McLaren did. Ferrari probably has five or six for all we know. ;)

As for Fishichella and Frentzen. Frentzen, is one of my favorite drivers, but it is about time to retire. For Fishichella, I would like to see him win another GP, but his aspirations of going to Ferrari are like a little one legged boy wanting to be an Astronaut. Wont happen! He can however improve his drive by getting that Sauber seat though.
 
I dont know if we have seen the best of Heidfield as of yet. Id hope not. But anyway with regards to young drivers, people like Kiesa arent really all that special. He was only lying 6th in the FIA Int F3000 championship before moving here, there are several drivers not least Bjorn Wirdheim, Gorgio Pantano, and Frank Montangy that deserve a ride in F1 more than him. I can of course name more, such as Thomas Enge, Sebastian Bourdais, and Bruno Junqeria, but of course it all comes down to who can bring what sponsorship.

I have a feeling that Kiesa will be another Bernoldi, hes not as bad as Yoong was. But whether or not hes good enough to get a place in F1 and keep it for more than a season or 2 I dont know. Sure he won the Monaco round of F300, but more by luck. Had Wirdheim not messed up, and remembered where the start finish/line was hed have finished a long way behind in a distant 2nd place. Still that dosent matter now, as that didnt happen and Wirdheim is the new F3000 Champion for 2003.

Heidfield has 1 year more in F1 I think as his make or break year. He needs to pull something out of the bag and show everyone what he can do, otherwise hes gone from F1 Id say. Hed probably end up either in the ALMS or CART. And would probably do very well if he landed a decent seat in the ALMS and might even get a shot at winning the biggest race of them all. Le Mans.
 
Not all race drivers are special. Heidfeld will never win in F1, CART or ALMS. I saw nothing special his rookie year, and still see nothing in him. As for Kiesa, I think he can get the job done but he is in a way like Sato was last year. He gets shoved in an F1 car and right now all of the teams are going to watch him fail at Minardi because he has only a few miles under his belt. He stalled the car leaving the pits. Does that show how clueless he is? Kiesa unfortuantly will be the next verstappen and get dropped before he gets a fair judgement. I see great things in him , but of course it takes a decent team to motivate someone.
 
I really dont think Heidfeld has a choice in Jordan really. Im sure Massa willb e abck (possibly Ferrari may reduce engine costs to give Peter enough reason to do this as well as to keep Sauber from going for a customer Merc or something of that nature. If Fisi does leave Jordan, it will be for Sauber. Where else would he go? At the momenet Sauber does look to be on the move, but not into a race winning situation for a number of years yet. IMO and as Jordan has proved in 3 seasons now, they know how to win if given the oppurtunity, that is a situation, wind tunnel or not, Sauber has yet to be in. That makes a BIG difference.

As for Nick's talents, for some teams there is more to it than speed. He is relativly consitant, hasnt made too many errors, has great technical ability and now experiance (something every developing team wants) and has proved to be just as fast every now and then as Kimi (granted it was his first year) and Alesi. I think Nick is another Heinz, he needs to be nutured in a special way. Perhaps Sauber hasnt done this properly? But I agree he is no champion. Give him a good car Im sure he can win. As for Kiesa give me a break. He doesnt deserve anything more than what he has already got. Is pretty obvious what money does for you. In know way was that drive earned and Minardi isnt in a position to be talent scouting at the moment so its pure luck. I can name a dozen other guys who are far more deserving for the role. And IMO it doesnt take long to see if a driver can hack it. If it takes a season to get up to speed he wont cut it. In F-1 has JPM, KR and MS to name a few have shown, if you have the true talent succeed to in F-1 you show it right from the first race.
 
Maybe Kiesa has bought his way into racing, but I see a little Juan and Kimi in him. I think if he was to gather a test role for 2004 and a race seat in 2005, he would be awsome.

As for Fisi, no reason to leave a legit team to go to a back marker team, unless other oppertunities are to come from it. I think he really has hopes of Ferrari but he is 10 years too late. Ferrari will be keen to discover another young talet to replace Micheal and Rubens.

Jordan has always been that team that needs that what-if situation to win. What if everyone crashes except a Jordan, they win. Now that was not the case in 1999 when Frentzen won four Gps. I wish to see Jordan back to winning ways or at least great finishes.

Another driver we need to dicuss is Ralf Firman. Where is he going to go. He has shown moments of brilliance and hasnt made but one or two errors on his part. Think he can land another ride next year or is his 15 minutes of fame over?
 
Well to correct, HHF won 2 races in '99. (France and Italy)

I think a move for GF to any team other than the top-4 would be foolish. As for Ralph, I dont know. He is in a tough position. It seems these days if you dont drop jaws in your first year thats it, they bring in some other rookie to try and do that. Hes a capable driver, I say give him one more year.
 
I stand corrected. My fault. Eddie won four i believe.

I say give Ralf another shot. I jaw was partially open. He is doing equally as good as other rookies this year and I believe could be placed on the same skill level as Da Matta. Both could do very well if given the right car. Firman is getting towards the higher end of the age spectrum so that might hurt his chances.
 
Just to update all this, Fisi has announced he will be at Sauber next year. Not sure who he is replacing as of yet and vice versa.
 
I am guessing that Firman might stay with Jordan next year because of Fisi leaving.
 
Yea I think Im going to agree. Cant see anyone else who could get the spot. Mind you, Firman is there based on some money, so I guess that depends if the money is still there for another season. Rumorus have it Jordan will get a new title sponsor this year, and Ralph is mainly there because current main sponsor B&H requested a Brit driver.
 
I reckon that Heidfeld could go to Jaguar for next season...as Wilson hasn't performed to expectation at all after leaving Minardi. I hope it does happen for Heidfeld, but nothing is confirmed as yet.

Jordan is pretty much buggered at the moment...not having a good car or engine...sad how they went of in recent years, after the success of '99. :(
 
Yes, 99 was great for them, and great for F1. If only Irvine would have won that championship...

Anyways Jordan is on a downhill slide and until Minardi out paces them, they are not at the bottom yet.

Heidfeld is a very iffy driver in my mind. I have not yet seen a "great run" where he is the center of attention but of course we have all seen his bad luck. He does not make many mistakes except Australia last year... and could be good given the car, hopefully. I doubt Jag would recruit him because of his lack luster performance in his F1 career but I would not count him out of a seat just yet.
 
This season hasn't been a good one for Heidfeld to be honest, but I still think he's a solid driver and needs a better car to prove himself.

Jag has sorta signed a contract with him...hush hush...can't be confirmed tho. ^_^
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom