Heidfeld: "BMW did very well for a relatively small team"
F1 News
- GPblog.com
Between 2006 and 2009 BMW was on the F1 grid. The German car company bought the team from Sauber, so the team drove for a number of years under the name of BMW Sauber F1 team. During that period, drivers such as Nick Heidfeld, Jacques Villeneuve, Robert Kubica and Sebastian Vettel drove for the team. However, BMW pulled the plug on the project after a disappointing 2009. Too early, thinks former driver Heidfeld.
"The main fact is, they stopped too soon. As far as I'm concerned too early, that's what I say as a driver", says Heidfeld at the Beyond The Grid-podcast of F1. "From the point of view of the team and BMW as a whole, also looking at the financial crisis, it was probably the right decision. However, if you look at the results, I think that they did very well for a relatively small team".
BMW could have become world champion
If it is up to Heidfeld, BMW had a good chance to become world champion in the period that they rode along. "When you are fifth, fourth, third and second you can also become world champion. It's normal that sometimes you have to take a step back, only then they decided too soon to quit".
"I think there were things we could have done better, but that's for any team. It's a bit like the grass next door is always greener. When you go to another team, sometimes things go better or worse," says Heidfeld. The German driver drove for the team all the time BMW Sauber was there for the team, achieving second place as the best result, which he managed to achieve six times in total.