Heidfeld pleased to be back

Following Robert Kubica’s accident the Renault team opted to replace the Pole with German Nick Heidfeld.

The 33-year-old had looked to be out in the wilderness again for this season after losing his seat at Sauber following the announcement that Mexican Sergio Perez would join Kamui Kobayashi in the team.

But while the chance to get back into Formula One was a great opportunity, it wasn’t taken without a whole lot of thinking by the former BMW driver.

”This chance came completely out of the blue. At the start of it there was definitely the emotional need to get my head clear because there was the emotional strain of coping with Robert’s accident while knowing that this could be a chance for me. It was not an easy situation, but I had to take the chance that came my way.” Heidfeld told formula1.com. ”I did some intensive soul searching - probably more intensive than most others would have done - and now I would say that I have cleared the situation for myself. It was not my fault what happened to Robert and I truly wish he’ll be back soon - that is one side. The other is that I had to grab the opportunity and feel happy to be driving again.”

So far in testing Heidfeld has looked good, he impressed in Jerez before the official announcement was made and in Barcelona he recorded some quick times while continuing to test the new Renault car.

In fact the Renault car itself has looked good, completing some good times and a good number of laps.

One issue for the team so far though has been their KERS device and getting this right along with the final set up during the final testing session in Barcelona will prove crucial to whether they will be one of the mid-pack teams or one battling for the podium come the start of the 2011 season.