Team: Sauber
Nationality: German
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| | Heidfeld |
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STATS
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Year
|
Rank
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Wins
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Poles
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Podium
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Best finish
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2002
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10
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0
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0
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0
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4th, Spain
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Career
|
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0
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0
|
1
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3rd, Brazil, 2001
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2002 Recap
The Good: True, Sauber gets to use one-year-old Ferrari engines (although they have to pay for them), but this Swiss-based team has only the fraction of the budget of some of the other teams and yet still managed to finish fifth in the Constructors Championship. Heidfeld contributed a lot to this result, not only by scoring points but also with his wide-ranging technical input.
Season Highlight: Heidfeld finished fourth (his best result of the season) in Spain, while teammate Felipe Massa took fifth to give Sauber its best team result of the season.
The Bad: Heidfeld has close links to McLaren and Mercedes, but when McLaren needed a driver to replace Mika Hakkinen in 2002 it opted for
Heidfeld's 2001 teammate Kimi Raikkonen over Heidfeld.
Season Lowlight: In the Austrian Grand Prix, Heidfeld's car snapped out of control and cannoned down the track to T-bone Takuma Sato's Jordan. It was an explosively spectacular accident, and fortunately both drivers escaped without serious injury.
Key Stat: A fourth-place run in Spain was one of the best finishes of his career. He earned a fourth and a third in 2001.
2003 Outlook
What needs to be done: Heidfeld has to adapt to his third new teammate in as many years, but this time it's a veteran (Heinz-Harald Frentzen) rather than rookies (Raikkonen and Massa). The 2002 Sauber had pretty much reached its peak, so the team is going to have to come up with a good step forward with the 2003 model.
Prediction: Sauber has done well to finish fourth in the Constructors Championship in 2001 and fifth in 2002. With other mid-pack teams on the rise, it's going to be difficult for Sauber to stay up there. On the other hand, the experienced pairing of Heidfeld and Frentzen should net the team a steady influx of points.
Your Take
Here are your thoughts on Heidfeld's prospects for 2003 and beyond.
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