Nick Heidfeld

Nick Lars Heidfeld (born 10 May 1977) is a German professional racing driver, who drives for Scuderia Ferrari in F1. He has won eleven Grands Prix, and has become one of the very best drivers in modern F1 after multiple championship challenges.

Early life and junior career
Heidfeld was born in Mönchengladbach, West Germany, and began racing karts at the age of 11 in 1988. He had a very successful junior career, winning German F3 in 1997 and International F3000 in 1999.

Early career (2000-2004)
Heidfeld started out at an uncompetitive Prost, outperforming veteran teammate Jean Alesi however not achieving much else. In 2001, he made a move to Sauber, where he spent three years, including beating future racewinners Kimi Raikkonen and Felipe Massa over full seasons. In 2004, Heidfeld made a move to an uncompetitive Jordan where he found himself outperforming the car and attracting the attention of faster teams for the following year.

Audi (2005-2006)
In October 2004, it was announced that Heidfeld would be moving to the new works Audi team for 2005. This season brought major success for Heidfeld, as he won his first ever race with the team in Australia, as well as in Singapore. Reunited with former teammate Raikkonen, he outperformed the Finn by a staggering 127-33.

The team confirmed he would be staying with the team for 2006. The following season saw a less competitive chassis, the A006, with Heidfeld only being able to muster 48 points and not a single podium with it. However, he still marginally outperformed Raikkonen. Due to the lack of pace in the car, Heidfeld stated his intent to move teams and left Audi at the end of 2006.

Ferrari (2007-present)
On 27 September 2006 Heidfeld announced he would be leaving Audi for 2007 and that he had signed a three-year deal with prestigious Italian squad Ferrari, partnered with Jarno Trulli. His first year at the team saw him locked in an intense battle with the BMWs of Montoya and Vettel, in which he won his first race for the team in South Africa but saw him miss out on the championship by just 11 points. However he helped Ferrari score their first Constructors' Championship since 2004.

The following year saw a similar story, with the German now partnered with 2006 champion Jenson Button. He took a slightly less competitive SF2008 to the title fight with the Auralines and the Volvos, however he lost out on the title by 23 points, ending the season in 4th on 180 points (9 less than the year before).

Ferrari took advantage of the new regulations in 2009 to build the fastest car, presenting Heidfeld and teammate Button with their best opportunity yet to win a drivers' title with the Scuderia, a feat which has not been achieved since Michael Schumacher in 2004. On 9 June 2009, Heidfeld confirmed he had renewed his contract with the team until the end of 2011. As of the Japanese Grand Prix, Heidfeld sits on 189 points, nine behind his teammate with three wins apiece, and with a chance of winning the championship at the final race for the third successive year.