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Nick Heidfeld opens up about the teams, cars, and his biggest rivals in F1

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Nick Heidfeld. Image: BMW
Nick Heidfeld. Image: BMW

Nick Heidfeld was one of the quickest and most consistent drivers of the 2000s. In fact, he stood on the podium 13 times, which is the most any driver has done so without winning a race, according to F1.com

The German driver spent 11 years in Formula 1, starting 183 grand prix and spent time behind the wheel at Prost, Sauber, Jordan, Williams, BMW Sauber and Renault. 

Seen as Germany's next Michael Schumacher, he won the Formula 3 championship and Formula 3000 series. 

The former F1 driver chats to F1.com's Tom Clarkson in the latest episode of 'Beyond The Grid' and delves into the best and worst cars he drove and more importantly which drivers impressed him the most. 

On Schumacher, he says: "Well, at the beginning of my career when he was winning world championships. I never was in a car where I could fight him."

In his first season in F1, Heidfeld was teamed up with veteran Jean Alesi, but they didn't gel particularly well and ended up colliding more than once during the season. 

He moved on to Sauber and shared the garage with a Finnish rookie, none other than 2007 world champion Kimi Räikkönen. Heidfeld then spent time at Jordan, Wiliams and BMW Sauber.

Over his career, the German went showed prowess and skill, going "toe-to-toe in equal machinery with the likes of Robert Kubica, Mark Webber and Kimi Raikkonen and frequently came out on top".

Have a listen to that chat here. 

One amazing statistic I will always remember about Heidfeld, is his record run up the Goodwood hill in 1999 in Mercedes-powered McLaren MP4/13. 

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