Nick Heidfeld has revealed how Robert Kubica frustrated him by suggesting BMW was favouring him during their time as teammates.
The two drivers were often a thorn in the side of McLaren and Ferrari during their stint together between 2006-2009 and notably scored a 1-2 finish at the 2008 Canadian Grand Prix, with Kubica coming out on top.
However, while the Pole was considered the better driver, Heidfeld claims that didn’t ease his paranoia about being treated as a number two.
“He was the teammate I had the longest in Formula 1, for nearly three seasons, and I would say that he was the most complete of all the teammates I had,” ‘Quick Nick’ told F1’s Beyond the Grid podcast.
Also Read:
- Kubica: I’d still be racing in F1 if last year’s Williams was better
- Kubica: Russell deserves a car at the front of the grid
“He was not as quick as Kimi [Raikkonen] in races and he was not as quick as [Mark] Webber was in qualifying, but overall, as a whole package, he was really up there.
“What I didn’t like about him, or what was also for himself something not really helpful, is that most of the time he thought the team was benefiting me over him because it was a German team as BMW and I was a German driver,” he added.
“I didn’t like it because he did put that out in the press quite often and I think it was simply not true.
“He was always saying the team prefers me over him, and I get better whatever. That was not true.”
Interestingly, however, over the 57 races they were teammates, Heidfeld actually outscored Kubica 163-137 which will surprise many.
Still, the German’s comments are notable as they come after Kubica also complained Williams was favouring George Russell last season, during what was the one and only year of his F1 comeback.
“I can assure you that George and Robert have the same cars for each race and that’s how it has been since the beginning of the season. Why would we discriminate against one of our drivers?” deputy team boss Claire Williams said, replying to his claims.