Heidfeld says second was no fluke

Nick Heidfeld believes BMW Sauber earned its second place in the Australian Grand Prix on merit rather than benefiting from the chaos of the race.

The German ran competitively in the top five from the start, and was closing on McLaren's Heikki Kovalainen before the Finn had to pit under a safety car and dropped down the order.

That allowed Heidfeld to equal his career-best result in second - an achievement he felt reflected BMW's speed in Melbourne.

"I was lucky on the pit stops in terms of the safety car, but I think we also had a very good pace and deserve second position," he said.

Heidfeld had spent the opening stint behind Williams' Nico Rosberg, before jumping ahead of the German when they pitted together on lap 21.

"After the start I thought it's not going to be a very good race, because I thought Nico was running quite long," said Heidfeld.

"Actually he came in earlier than expected, luckily on the same lap as myself, and what we lost on the start we gained back on the pit stop.

"Our pit crew, similar to last year, did a fantastic stop and kept me in front of Nico."

View Site Map