Don't Forget About Nick!!

This week went a long way to shaping the 2010 grid. Renault are confirmed (all be it with a new partner taking a 75% stake in the team), Peter Sauber has hired the first of his drivers and both the Virgin and Lotus teams have revealed their line ups. However, with Michael Schumacher looking likely to make a comeback with Mercedes, has Nick Heidfeld waited too long to find a drive?

Nick Heidfeld doesn't just have a monkey on his back; it's basically a gorilla. He holds the record for the most points scored without a race win (and the most podiums without reaching the top step), he has had 10 seasons in formula 1 but yet never seems likely to achieve the success that got him to the top flight in the first place.

In 1999 Heidfeld broke all the records on his way to the F3000 (then support to F1) series. He was the next big thing. On the back of this success he became a Mercedes protogee and was the favourite to replace Mika Hakkinen at McLaren after he retired in 2001. Nick had beaten eventual replacement Kimi Raikkonen in the Sauber team that year and while Kimi drove to victory after victory in McLarens and Ferraris, Nick spent most of the next 8 seasons in the midfield - opportunistically taking the podium chances when they arose. His best chance at a victory came at the 2008 Canadian GP but he had to move aside for his team mate Robert Kubica.

This week, Virgin announced that Lucas Di Grassi would be joining Timo Glock and Lotus confirmed Jarno Trulli and Heikki Kovalainen will be piloting their cars for 2010. Meanwhile, Peter Sauber reintroduced himself to the driver market and quickly snapped up young hotshot Kamui Kobayashi. There are only a few seats left; 1 at Campos, 2 at USGP, 1 at Sauber, 1 (maybe 2) at Renault, and 1 at Mercedes.

USGP won't want Nick - wrong nationality for the brand. Campos might want him but they won't be able to deliver the winning car Heidfeld craves. Peter Sauber is a friend of Nicks but may be forced into prolonging Giancarlo Fisichella's career as a favour to Ferrari (it will keep their understudy 'race fit' incase he is required to substitute again). Will Renault be a team on the rebound (and therefore really good) or a team that heads deeper into the mire without its talismanic leader Alonso and (more importantly) technical genius Pat Symonds? Kubica (who will probably stay put despite rumours to the contrary - where will he go?) is certainly betting on the former and hopes to install himself as the new figurehead to the team. That leaves the drive that Heidfeld is holding out for; Mercedes. He's got a shot - he is German after all, and Mercedes could do worse - he is a safe pair of hands but is he good enough to lead a title challenge? Unfortunately for Nick it seems that the Silver Arrows want a race winner (hence Michael).

However, there is still hope; what if Schumacher fails the medical examination and thus can't cope with the stains of an F1 car? Merc can't afford to put a rookie alongside Rosberg - they could be out of the title race by May if their drivers take too long to get up to speed. This is what Nick is waiting for and it is a fair gamble; the prize is one of the best seats on the grid. What if it doesn't happen though? Sauber won't wait forever and Renault certainly won't. That would leave Campos and the prospect of fading further away from the top.

If I was Heidfeld I would be harassing Peter Sauber or (Renault's new owner) Gerard Lopez non-stop, trying to persuade them that I was who they want in their car. I would secure a drive and be happy that I don't have to gamble on a new team.

If Quick Nick isn't doing this then he faces the prospect of fading further away from the top and leaving F1 as the most successful person never to win a race. The gorilla will soon be King Kong.