Heidfeld on pole after 'perfect day'

Nick Heidfeld hailed his “perfect day” after claiming the first pole position of his Formula One career on home ground at the Nurburgring today.

Heidfeld, who was born just 70 miles from the track in Monchegladbach, will start tomorrow’s European Grand Prix from the front after a blistering lap in qualifying.

Williams took advantage of a change in the qualifying format, which sees one flying lap with race fuel on Saturday, to take a fuel gamble and earn top spot in BMW’s home race.

With less fuel on board than his rivals, Heidfeld was able to streak to a pole position which left even the 28-year-old shocked.

After his first pole in 91 attempts, he said: “It is fantastic to have my first pole position in Formula One, finally, after so many years.

“This is definitely the place I would have wanted to do it. It is my home grand prix here in the Nurburgring, in front of all the spectators, and it has been a perfect day so far.

“I didn’t think we would be able to get pole. I thought that maybe we could get the second row so it is fantastic.”

Heidfeld arrived in Germany fresh from his best-ever result last weekend when he finished second in Monaco. That came as a relief to Williams, who had found themselves under pressure to perform amid claims BMW were considering buying Sauber.

Heidfeld hopes his performance today marks a turning point, saying: “It is very important but it is more important to show that we are moving in the right direction.

“I thought it would be tougher for us here after Monaco. I would have expected the BARs to be a bit stronger. It is great, especially as we know we have a few more parts and a new package coming later in the season.”

Williams’ tactical move ensured they came out on top in qualifying but second-place man Kimi Raikkonen, who won the last two races to launch his championship challenge, remains the favourite for victory tomorrow.

The Finn’s McLaren team have been dominant so far this weekend and it looks likely he only missed out on a fourth consecutive pole courtesy of a hefty fuel load. He is content to start second and feels his race strategy is the one to have.

Raikkonen said: “It is difficult to know what other teams are on fuel wise. Now we need to wait until the race to see. I’m happy with what we are doing.

“We have a good race car and we should be in a strong position to start from second place. As long as we get a good start I don’t see any reason why we should not be able to fight for a win.

“I’m quite happy how things went. Of course I would rather have been on first place but today we couldn’t do it. Let’s see when the others are stopping in the race.”

Like Williams, Toyota appeared to take the opportunity to run light and move as far up the grid as possible with Jarno Trulli clocked a blistering lap to defy mediocre practice pace.

The Italian claimed fourth, faster than former team Renault, who have world championship leader Fernando Alonso starting sixth and claiming “the difference between myself and pole is probably down to some different strategies“.

Juan Pablo Montoya was fifth in the second McLaren while Ferrari’s troubles continued with another lacklustre showing.

Rubens Barrichello was the leading Ferrari in seventh despite a mistake but world champion Michael Schumacher was 10th. Schumacher is hopeful of better tomorrow after again struggling with one-lap qualifying.

He said: “I am looking forward to the race when we should be more competitive than today. I just plan to push hard and see what happens, trying to pick up as many points as possible.”

Jenson Button returned to competitive action with 13th for BAR-Honda, one place behind Red Bull’s David Coulthard.