Make way for Nick Heidfeld. In an (un)fortunate turn of events involving Robert Kubica crashing his Rally car, Nick Heidfeld’s career has been jolted back to life. Nick is one among the select few drivers who have survived in F1 despite never posting a victory. After replacing Pedro de la Rosa in Sauber and scoring some valuable points for the team, he was left out in the cold when choosing the team’s line up. This ‘misfortune’ has turned to his favour with him behind the wheel of a much faster and reliable car.

Nick entered the world of Formula 1 in 1998 as a test driver for Mclaren. But it wasn’t until 2000 that he got to claim his spot on the grid. The season he spent with Prost was quite unsatisfactory with him finishing pointless. In 2001, he jumped to Sauber and immediately skyrocketed up the table, finishing the season in an admirable 8th. After jumping to Jordan and then to Williams, he was back to race with Sauber that then was under partnership with BMW to be called BMW Sauber.

2007-08 were the golden years for Nick. With several podium finishes, he finished 2007 and 2008 5th and 6th respectively. Over the years, his name became synonymous with consistency and reliability. He holds the record for the most consecutive finishes with 41 classified finished.

In 2010, after becoming the test driver for Mercedes and later driving for Sauber and claiming points, he has been awarded a second chance at racing and claiming that victory that has eluded him all these years. A decade has passed since he made his debut. Will 2011 be the year, he realises his dream? Will he be able to use the rocket that Lotus Renault is and finally claim the chequered flag?