BMW Sauber

Heidfeld’s path to F1 was bankrolled by German car maker Mercedes. He caught the manufacturer’s eye while in Formula Ford, then proceeded to win the 1997 German Formula 3 title while impressing in regular F1 tests for McLaren. This prompted McLaren-Mercedes to create a junior team in Formula 3000 especially for Heidfeld. He narrowly lost the title, before crushing the opposition in 1999 and duly earning a shot at F1.

An uninspiring first year followed in 2000 with Prost Peugeot And for 2001, his move to Sauber, Saw Nick lead Sauber to a best-ever fourth in the constructors’ standings.

After two quieter seasons with Sauber, 2004 saw Heidfeld switch to the ailing Jordan team. At last his achievements in uncompetitive cars began to get noticed, and Heidfeld beat Antonio Pizzonia to a 2005 Williams-BMW drive after a tense testing shoot-out.

Williams was in the middle of a slump, but it was still in better shape than any of Heidfeld's previous squads, and he excelled by taking three podium finishes and his first pole. A cycling accident sidelined Heidfeld in late August, and during his lay-off he signed for BMW's new factory team. BMW-Sauber proved to be Heidfeld’s ideal home, and a steady development season paved the way for the breakthrough of 2007.

Eight seasons and 132 grands prix into his Formula 1 career, Nick Heidfeld has never been in a stronger position than at the start of 2008. The quiet German was a revelation as he spearheaded BMW’s breakthrough 2007 season – relentlessly racking up the points and podiums that took the rising squad to second in the constructors’ table.

BMW is aiming for victories in 2008 – an achievement that will need both the team and Heidfeld to perform at the very highest level.

Kubica’s path to F1 was far from straightforward. He was picked up by Renault’s young driver scheme on the basis of his impressive karting career, only to be dropped after just a single Formula Renault season, even though he finished runner-up in the Italian Championship. The Pole rarely had competitive equipment in Formula 3, but he did manage a heroic comeback win on his return to the 2003 Euro Series A move to the World Series by Renault in 2005 got Kubica’s career on course, as he won the championship and the prize test in a Renault F1 car. He was also set to drive for Minardi on Chinese GP Friday but was denied a superlicence. BMW boss Mario Theissen Signed him up as number three driver for 2006. This turned out to be a masterstroke. Kubica was fastest in Bahrain practice – his first official F1 session. It was just one of a string of superb Friday practice performances and BMW was soon convinced that its unheralded Polish novice was faster than veteran race drivers Jacques Villeneuve and Heidfeld. When BMW suggested that Villeneuve take part in a ‘shoot-out’ with Kubica to decide who should get a 2007 seat, the former world champion quit F1 in disgust on the eve of the Hungarian GP, clearing the way for Kubica to make his debut.

A sensational Formula 1 debut in mid-2006, Was followed by a very difficult year in 2007. Outscored by his team mate his season will be best remembered for an accident in Canada – arguably the most violent non-fatal crash in F1’s history,

There were mitigating circumstances behind Kubica’s 2007 difficult season, His driving style proved ill-suited to the Bridgestone control tyres, and he bore the brunt of BMW’s reliability problems. There was almost a sensational breakthrough in China, where a supreme performance in changeable conditions saw Kubica emerge in the race lead – but only for a single lap before his hydraulics failed... In some ways Kubica was a victim of his own success. Sixth in the championship, albeit 22 points behind Heidfeld, in his first full season was very respectable, but his stunning late-2006 performances had raised expectations. Only a technicality had denied Kubica a points finish on his F1 debut in the 2006 Hungarian Grand Prix, and he finished on the podium in only his third race. As Kubica hounded Heidfeld on his Suzuka debut that autumn, few would have predicted that the German would turn the tables in 2007. Now it’s up to Kubica to redress the balance, and to recapture the magic of his debut GPs.