Heidfeld: “This podium is a big step”

Frustrated in Melbourne, Nick Heidfeld managed to make everyone forget his poor Australian performance. Sixth on the starting grid, the Lotus driver-Renault flies to second row without warning. Fernando Alonso, Jenson Button, Mark Webber or even Lewis Hamilton can't resist.

Replacement Robert Kubica is also struggling to achieve this excellent performance. Lotus-Renault had also warned that it would be difficult to repeat the Melbourne podium. That was without counting on Quick Nick. “The start was fantastic, really fun, notes the German pilot. In Australia, I had already gained a lot of places at the start, but I didn't imagine the same thing when starting sixth. I was struggling with Sebastian Vettel who saw me in his retros. I did everything I could, but he was faster. In the first stint, there were a few drops of rain and I called the pits to tell them that my tires were leaving. They asked me to stay on the track because we didn't want any additional stops. We had good pace especially on the prime tires, then we had to defend against Mark Webber who was attacking, but his tires started to deteriorate. This first podium with Lotus-Renault is a big step. »

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