Heidfeld unlikely to contest all remaining WEC rounds
Rebellion Racing's Nick Heidfeld is unlikely to compete in all of the remaining World Endurance Championship races in 2015, Motorsport.com can reveal.
Nick Heidfeld, Venturi Formula E Team
Fabian Lujan/ASN Media
The former Sauber, Jordan and BMW Formula 1 driver says he’s determined to put his young family first before what could be a hectic autumn after competing in next month’s Le Mans 24 Hours.
“I don’t know what the team will do after Le Mans,” said Heidfeld. “My plan is not to do the full WEC season, but a lot will depend on the WEC and Formula E schedule and how it will fit in together.
“I would like to do Le Mans and also Nurburgring, and I will maybe do some more as well - but if there are like last year a lot of races together, I don’t want to do it because last year it was too much.
“For me my family is number one, so if there is race after race like last year for the two series, then I won’t do it.”
Heidfeld is also unsure as to whether he will get the chance to test he newly AER-powered ORECA LMP1 car before the official Le Mans test day on 31 May.
“We know the car relatively well but we have the new engine and new gearbox so it will be nice to get in the car to feel it and understand the power delivery," he continued.
“It is getting tight from a time perspective, and of course I have the Berlin and Moscow Formula E races to do, so it won’t be easy.”
Heidfeld though is hopeful that the package will be competitive, even if the team has extremely limited competition like in 2014.
“From the data and what I have heard it should be good, but we will have to see when we drive it. It will be a bit of a step in to the unknown, but the team is good and the chassis proven so a lot will depend on the new parts.”
Motorsport.com understands that Rebellion is likely to shake down the new AER-engined ORECA LMP1 next Thursday (21 May), should the final mating of the new turbo engine be completed in time.
When asked by Motorsport.com at Monaco last weekend, the teams’ newest recruit Daniel Abt stated that he was “unlikely to try the car before the test day at Le Mans.”
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