Heidfeld looking to secure F1 future

With confirmation yesterday that BMW Sauber are to pull out of the 2010 season, two drivers are now left without a seat for next season. Polish driver Robert Kubica, who only last season was in the running for the world drivers championship and is viewed by many to be one of the finest prospects in F1 and 32-year-old German driver Nick Heidfeld who is competing in his tenth year at the top level of motor sport.

The Formula One Blog understands that Heidfeld is not waisting any time in looking for a new team in order to secure his F1 future and is already in talk with other teams.

With one less team on the grid in 2010, a continued question mark over Toyota and Renault's future in F1 and drivers like veteran Alexander Wurz reportedly considering a return to the grid with US F1, one of three new teams that will be introduced next season, options for Nick Heidfeld could be limited.

During his ten years and 160 starts in Formula 1, Heidfeld has earned himself 206 career points and 12 podium finishes, his first coming during his second season with a third place finish at the 2001 Brazilian grand prix in the Sauber Petronas. The German's best season in F1 to date came just two years ago when the driver finished fifth in the drivers world championship with 61pts, a season that saw Heidfeld finish in points scoring positions in all but three races.

With many critics believing that the BMW Sauber drivers best days are behind him and with more teams looking for youth over experience, this could be the last season we see Heidfeld.

However, there is a possibility that Heidfeld and Kubica's seats could be saved in a similar way to that of Jenson Button and Rubens Barrichello when Honda pulled out of Formula 1 in December. It's understood that former owner Peter Sauber still owns a 20% stake in the team and could act as a lifeline in resurrecting the Sauber name for 2010.

In the meantime the FIA will begin to investigate options for the replacement of BMW team. It is possible that one of the teams rejected when three new positions became available in past months could be revisited as a replacement.

Spanish based Epsilon Euskadi who compete in Le Mans 24 and the World Series by Renault, has already been identified by the Press Association as one such replacement. Team boss Joan Villadelprat has insisted his team would be willing to step into the breach "if the opportunity arises, we are going to attack it"

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