Nurburgring in an F1 car

I had no idea that Heidfeld drove his Sauber on the 'Ring in 2007.

From WTF1:
Equipped with super-hard demonstration tyres, short gear ratios and a super-high ride height to cope with the bumps, Nick Heidfeld gave it some beans on a few occasions but had to keep slowing down for photo opportunities, meaning he didn’t get to set a fully representative lap time. Still, it looked cool, though!

2002 Heidfeld-Sato crash

I read about this on Sato's Wiki page.

Goodwood Hill Climb Nick Heidfeld 1999

I can't get tired of watching this.

Top right is a 1/43 model of the Hill Climb McLaren.

Formula E Long Beach photos

Detailed write-up on Hooniverse next week. For now, some photos.

I flew down to Long Beach to watch the race, primarily for the novelty of it all and to see Heidfeld. I was not disappointed.

I had reserved a boring midsize (Ford Fusion). But next to the check out counter, there were three Miatas with their tops down and a huge banner that read: SPLURGE A LITTLE. I'm such a sucker.

That's a VW Polo from Mexico City. Diehard fans.

My friend patiently waiting for Dario Franchitti.

Nelson "Handsome Boy" Piquet, Jr.

Karun Chandhok!

Jean Eric Vergne fan.

Heidfeld qualifying.

F1 drivers in Formula E

I'm going to the Formula E race in Long Beach next month. I just peeked at the driver line-up. I knew there was a bunch of ex-F1 drivers, but I didn't realize there were so many. Out of the 20 drivers (2 drivers per team), HALF drove in F1. They are:

• Jean-Eric Vergne
• Lucas di Grassi
• Nelson Piquet
• Jerome D'Ambrosio
• Sebastien Buemi
• Karun Chandhok
• Bruno Senna
• Jarno Trulli
• Nick Heidfeld
• Jaime Alguersuari

Nick Heidfeld Formula E crash

The good news: Nick Heidfeld almost won!

The bad news: Nick Heidfeld almost won.

Rosberg and Heidfeld, seconds behind a win

As some of you know, I am/was a huge Heidfeld fan because he had so many podiums but never a win. Picking Rosberg as my new favorite driver when he moved to Mercedes is becoming a sound decision, especially this season. In the last four races, he's come in second all four times. Today, he finished barely half a second behind Lewis. Here is a breakdown of how close Heidfeld and Rosberg came to winning a race.

Heidfeld
2005 Monaco: 13.877 second behind Kimi
2005 Europe: 16.567 behind Alonso
2007 Canada: 4.343 behind Lewis
2008 Australia: 5.478 behind Lewis
2008 Canada: 16.495 behind Kubica
2008 GB: 1:08.577 behind Lewis
2008 Belgium: 9.383 behind Massa
2009 Malaysia: 22.722 behind Button

Rosberg in 2014
Malaysia: 17.313 seconds behind Lewis
Bahrain: 1.085 behind Lewis
China: 18.686 behind Lewis
Spain: 0.600 behind Lewis

The sound of Formula E

Pardon the pun, but I am running on fumes after a long day in the salt mine.

I had to post this video of the electric racer on the streets of Moscow. I dismissed the series as a gimmick that was bound to go bankrupt. But then, they signed Nick Heidfeld to the series this morning, along with a number of other former F1 "stars". I went on the Formula E website and they will actually hold a race next February on the streets of Los Angeles!

The strategy will be interesting. The races last one hour but the battery lasts 25 minutes. Each driver has two cars because it would take too long to charge the battery or switch batteries. So they'll just switch cars!

Anyone interested in this series, at all?

COTA Heidfeld WEC poster

Nick Heidfeld on the streets of Sao Paulo this week

Mercedes C32 AMG wagon F1 medical car

...after it was hit by Heidfeld.

Hunting for diecast cars on eBay

I re-arranged my 1/43 car collection this morning and decided to get some more cars. Maybe if I get these four cars, I will be satisfied and never want another car again!

Nick Heidfeld's 2012 Rebellion Lola (Spark)

Isuzu Impulse/Piazza (Norev)

Bentley Turbo R (Neo)

Nick Heidfeld's 1999 Mercedes CLR (Spark)

Nick Heidfeld curates the Festival of Speed

It's great to see Quick Nick working on interesting projects. To see the cars he talks about, click here.

And here is his record-breaking hill climb run.

122 miles from me

Nick Heidfeld, today, at Laguna Seca. Picture courtesy BZR.

Another podium finish for Heidfeld

Heidfeld's Rebellion team finished 3rd at the 12 Hours of Sebring, behind a couple of Audis.

As for F1, Sutil may be my new favorite driver. He is winless after 91 starts.

Heidfeld will again drive for Rebellion Racing

I'm at peace with the fact that Heidfeld will not be in F1 again.  Thankfully, Spark makes 1/43 scale models of Heidfeld's 2012 #12 Lola-Toyota.

Heidfeld to race Australian V8 Supercars

It's not a bad life, being an ex-F1 driver.  Heidfeld finished 4th in Le Mans (the fastest of the non-Audis) and it has just been announced that he will be racing at the Gold Coast 600 later this year.

Nick Heidfeld's Nick Heidfeld 1/43 Minichamps F1 car collection*

For Heidfeld fans, his Twitter page is a godsend.  

This week, he is getting ready to race Le Mans.  Between drivers meetings and autograph sessions, he bought this impressive collection of his former rides.

*The bottom car in the middle column is made by Spark.

Who is going to replace Massa mid-season?

F1Fanatic has a poll.  It seems everyone is a possibility, even Felipe himself.

The leading contender appears to be Sergio Perez.

Then there's that guy, who is available, desperate eager for a drive, and consistent.  Plus, he'll probably do better than Luca Badoer.

How to watch 24 Hours of Nurburgring 2012 online

I guess I won't be heading into the office this early Saturday morning...

http://www.24h-rennen.de/Live.94.0.html?&L=1

http://tv.audi.com/#/01

http://www.ustream.tv/channel/nissan-motorsports?lang=ja_JP

http://www.subaru.jp/ust/

And commentary in English here: http://radiolemans.0157.org/nplayer.php

And go Heidfeld!