The two were former teammates for several years at Sauber and Heidfeld for his part has more races than any other driver, on or from the network. He is also the de facto go-to guy for outfits that an experienced driver have in post-haste step, after it was Pirelli selected to test their new F1 tires and then returned to Sauber when Pedro de la Rosa was not working from last season.
After testing Heidfeld at its recent meeting, the Lotus Renault Jerez GP team announced that they selected the German driver, Kubica to take place until he is able to return to racing. Heidfeld wins selection of Bruno Senna and Romain Grosjean, both also racing experience (albeit much less) and are contracted members of the team test driver roster.
not to mention McLaren and Mercedes GP, where he served as a test driver to say - - After working for Prost, Sauber, Jordan and Williams Renault is the fifth team for Heidfeld is now over eleven consecutive years, he has now have driven was in the starting lineup since his debut at the 2000 Australian Grand Prix. His previous best finish was fifth place at Sauber, he scored the championship ended in 2007 and his eight second place Grand Prix. Follow the jump for the official announcement.
The Polish driver in his Lotus-Renault GP team, as you may have heard, is recovering in hospital from injuries substained in a rally accident in Italy that his vehicle was impaled by a roadside guardrail. At the Jerez test his team give a number of drivers - including their own, and Tester Bruno Senna F1 veteran Nick Heidfeld - Kubica a shot at temporary filling his seat, but they are not the only feeling his absence.
The majority of the teams on the grid have set special messages of hope for recovery Kubica somewhere on their cars. Some have mounted on the front fenders, some on the side pods and front keel, while others have placed on the side of the rear wing. But the message is the same: "Robert Szybkiego powrotu do zdrowia" in his native Polish - speedy recovery, Robert. We have assembled a few close-ups of the messages on the Jerez test cars and put them for your viewing pleasure in the gallery below, then click to check 'em out. Thanks for the tip, Arek!
Earlier reports are Tonio Liuzzi and Nico Hulkenberg - both of which lost their race seats this season - held as potential candidates for Kubica, but the team itself has just confirmed that Nick Heidfeld driving the new R31 in the upcoming test in Jerez in Spain.
Heidfeld is a German driver, who has been in F1 since 1998, driving for such teams as McLaren, Prost, Jordan and Williams. He drove alongside Kubica for four seasons at BMW Sauber 2006 to 2009. Last season he was as a test driver for Mercedes GP contract, but was dismissed as a dirt needed to replace Pedro de la Rosa. He could fill the same role for Renault, or the team will promote one of its test drivers on the hot seat instead? Follow the jump for the official statement.
behind with most of the procedures now him, Kubica is aware of (some reports that he was revived from a medically-coma), and talking to his doctors and visits to relatives and colleagues. Later this week, Kubica, additional surgery (for the right shoulder and foot), by a different procedure was followed a few days later to undergo. He expected to remain at the Santa Corona Hospital, where he has been the crash of two or three weeks, after which he expected to be transferred to another place was to rehabilitate it, probably between five months and one year.
With his recovery underway, but a long way, Renault must find someone to temporarily his place for the upcoming season. Although the team has both Bruno Senna and Romain Grosjean - both recent F1 drivers - on contract, the team is supposed to examine all options. Among them are Force India driver Tonio Liuzzi and Nico Hulkeberg that drove both last season and have competitive drivers. Liuzzi lost his seat this year at Force India, has Hülkenberg during a test driver role with the team when he lost his seat at Williams.
For those familiar with Lotus Group parent company, Proton had allowed the name to an independent Lotus F1 team, that the field was last year. The two companies then had a disagreement over the continuation of the contract for a second season after the Lotus Group (owner of the car that we know and love), the form purchased for the Renault F1 Team Lotus Renault GP. The independent Malaysian team, is now also charged with Renault engines run next season, so that the two teams with almost identical names in all respects.
The two outfits were also set so similar black and gold run paint schemes this season, but decided the independent Team Lotus, with the existing green-yellow color scheme, such as Lotus Renault GP stick presented to the retro black and gold scheme at the Autosport International Show Birmigham (images of which we have in the gallery below for your viewing pleasure put). The team, however, could come into conflict tobacco control legislation (in Canada of all places where the law of the implementation was delayed initially hold their grand prix), because the color is reminiscent of, if sponsored tobacco brand JPS in the outfit is its height.
In a related development, the Lotus Renault GP team is reportedly preparing a large number of Malaysian employees and rent, including Fairuz Fauzy. The Malaysian driver - winner of the race in A1GP, GP2 and Formula Renault 3.5 - served as a test driver last season for Lotus Racing (aka Team Lotus), but recently left the team without explanation, and is now a Lotus Renault GP official act test and reserve driver next to Robert Kubica and Vitaly Petrov.
Finally, Lotus and the recruitment of former F1 driver Jean Alesi, who as ambassador for the Exos / type 125 program and the latest in a long line of former Ferrari employees, CEO Dany Behar (to serve a former deputy followed Ferrari announced President himself) at Lotus. Have it all? Now check out the fresh batch of images in the gallery below.
