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German Formula Three Championship

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The German Formula Three Championship was the national Formula Three championship of Germany, and the former West Germany , from 1950 to 2002, then as Formel 3 until 2014. In 2003, the series had merged with the French Formula Three Championship to form the Formula 3 Euro Series . The lower-level series, the ATS Formel 3 Cup , subsequently operated in Germany, but it folded after the end of the 2014 season. Since the late 1980s, the list of German F3 champions has included many notable drivers, including Formula One World Champion Michael Schumacher and nine-time Le Mans winner Tom Kristensen .

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74-517: The first few years of Formula Three in Germany were inevitably subject to the effects of the country's post-war geo-political situation, which resulted in the existence of two separate championships. The West German championship ran from 1950 to 1954, while the East German equivalent continued until 1956. During this period, both championships used the then-standard 500cc two-stroke formula. This era

148-584: A 2014 season in which grid numbers ranged between nine and 14 cars, the series' organisers rejected a proposed merger with the British Formula 3 Championship with the intention of continuing the F3 Cup in 2015 under the name German Formula Open in order to circumvent FIA rules on national F3 championships which stipulate that they can hold no more than one round outside their home country (the organisers were planning to hold races at three meetings abroad as part of

222-458: A Lola - Toyota LMP1 car with teammates Neel Jani and Nicolas Prost . The car finished 32nd overall and seventh in class at Sebring after encountering problems, before leading home a Rebellion one-two in the unofficial privateer class at Spa , finishing fifth overall behind the four works Audis . At Le Mans, Heidfeld and his teammates went one better by finishing fourth, splitting the Audis after

296-535: A career-best fifth in the World Drivers' Championship in 2007 . BMW withdrew from the sport at the end of the 2009 season, leaving Heidfeld without a seat. He replaced Pedro de la Rosa at Sauber from the 2010 Singapore Grand Prix onwards, and joined Renault for his 2011 campaign to substitute for an injured Robert Kubica . Heidfeld took his final podium in Malaysia before he was replaced by Bruno Senna after

370-674: A crash whilst rallying in Italy, for the 2011 season. On the Saturday, Heidfeld set the quickest time of the day, stating that he enjoyed his day's running – 86 laps – with the team, and had fun driving the car. Heidfeld was confirmed as Kubica's replacement on 16 February 2011. In Australia, the first race of the season following the cancellation of the Bahrain Grand Prix , Heidfeld qualified 18th and ended 12th after suffering significant damage to his car due to another competitor driving into him at

444-464: A drive for 2011, before replacing Robert Kubica at Renault , who was injured in a rally accident on 6 February 2011. On 9 February, Lotus Renault GP confirmed that Heidfeld would be sharing testing duties with Bruno Senna on the Saturday and Sunday of the four-day test at Jerez , to evaluate the drivers in preparation of replacing the injured and former BMW Sauber teammate Robert Kubica , who had suffered long-term injuries to his arm and hand in

518-419: A fast and problem-free run. On 26 June 2014, Heidfeld signed up for the inaugural season of Formula E for Venturi Grand Prix . In the first race at the 2014 Beijing ePrix , he had a spectacular accident at the final corner on the final lap with e.Dams Renault driver Nicolas Prost whilst fighting for the lead. Prost later accepted the blame for the accident. At the 2014 Putrajaya ePrix , he retired from

592-457: A full-scale nuclear exchange was simply impossible as the destruction on both sides would be insurmountable. Towards the end of the Cold War, a period of détente culminated in the easing of tensions, bans on nuclear testing, and the destruction of various quantities of nuclear stockpiles. The Cold War began to come to an end in 1989 with the overthrow of Communist governments across Eastern Europe in

666-449: A further 2 points to his 2009 tally. Nevertheless, four points-scoring finishes in the final six races secured him thirteenth position in the Drivers' Championship, two points ahead of Kubica. In Singapore , Heidfeld's run of 41 consecutive classified finishes was brought to an end due to a collision with Force India 's Adrian Sutil . Following BMW's decision to withdraw from the sport at

740-671: A mathematical modeling study that assessed the relative influence of driver and machine, Heidfeld was ranked the 23rd best Formula One driver of all time. On 1 February 2012, it was confirmed that Heidfeld would join the Rebellion Racing team to contest both the Le Mans 24 Hours and selected races of the FIA World Endurance Championship . In addition to Le Mans, he also raced at the Sebring 12 Hours and Spa 6 Hours , sharing

814-479: A number of points finishes. In 2002 he outperformed another rookie teammate, Felipe Massa , but was then beaten by his more experienced fellow countryman, Heinz-Harald Frentzen , in 2003 . At the end of the 2003 season, Heidfeld was replaced at the Sauber team by Jordan 's Giancarlo Fisichella and looked to be without a race seat for the 2004 season . However, after impressing during a series of preseason tests, it

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888-412: A safety car situation saw the top 7 cars enter the pits in what was to soon become a bizarre series of errors that left Heidfeld and Kubica battling for the top two places. Heidfeld was switched to a one-stop fuel strategy and came out of his stop ahead of Kubica, but considerably heavier on fuel. Not long afterwards, Heidfeld moved off the racing line allowing Kubica to make an easy pass, which then allowed

962-585: A season since Michael Schumacher in 2002. Heidfeld began 2009 in Australia by qualifying in 11th place and finishing 10th in the race. At the Malaysian Grand Prix , Heidfeld again qualified in 11th, but started 10th as Sebastian Vettel was issued a 10 place drop (for an incident caused in Australia with Heidfeld's teammate Kubica). The race was stopped due to torrential rain on the 33rd lap, when Heidfeld

1036-610: A sixth in Monaco , and a second place at the Canadian Grand Prix , where he also out-qualified both Ferraris , equalling his best ever Grand Prix finish. After retiring from fifth place at Indianapolis, he was outscored by teammate Kubica at both Magny-Cours and Silverstone. At an eventful European Grand Prix at the Nürburgring, Heidfeld's home circuit, where he collided with Kubica on the opening lap, he recovered and overtook Kubica on

1110-470: A stalwart of German F3, winning a total of eight drivers' titles. It still competes in the series today. In the 1980s, the German F3 Championship began to produce some notable champions that would later graduate to Formula One and achieve title-winning success in other championships. Bernd Schneider ( 1987 ) and Joachim Winkelhock ( 1988 ) went on to make F1 appearances and became champions at

1184-599: A test driver for McLaren - Mercedes . In 2007, he returned to racing in the DTM. In 2002, the motorsport governing bodies of France and Germany collaborated to revive the concept of a European F3 championship. The F3 Euroseries was supposed to replace the German and French national championships – indeed, the French championship came to an end at that point. However, the German championship had more entrants, many of whom had concerns about

1258-584: A third-place finish in the Brazilian Grand Prix . After the announcement of Mika Häkkinen 's retirement, many thought that Heidfeld would replace him in the McLaren-Mercedes team, as he had Mercedes backing and had outscored the much more inexperienced Räikkönen by three points over the year. However, the McLaren seat went to Räikkönen, and Heidfeld stayed with Sauber for 2002 and 2003, where he racked up

1332-452: A time when the profile of German F3 was rising, and within a year, he had already made his Grand Prix début. Heinz-Harald Frentzen competed against Schumacher (sharing the runner-up position in 1989 ), and later became a winner of three Grands Prix. Schumacher's championship successor, Tom Kristensen from Denmark, embarked on a sportscar career that peaked with a record number of eight Le Mans wins. He has since established himself in

1406-440: A war between the same parties resumes at a later date (such as the period between World War I and World War II). By contrast, a post-war period marks the cessation of armed conflict entirely. The term "post-war" can have different meanings in different countries and refer to a period determined by local considerations based on the effect of the war there. Some examples of post-war events are in chronological order: The Cold War

1480-585: A younger brother, Sven , a former racing driver who is now a motorsport commentator for German television. His nickname to Formula One fans is "Quick Nick", which he got while driving for Williams in 2005 . † As Heidfeld was a guest driver, he was ineligible to score points. ( key ) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in italics indicate fastest lap) ( key ) (Races in bold indicate pole position; races in italics indicate fastest lap) ( key ) (Races in bold indicate pole position; races in italics indicate fastest lap) Did not finish, but

1554-613: Is a German former racing driver , who competed in Formula One from 2000 to 2011 . Born and raised in Mönchengladbach , North Rhine-Westphalia , Heidfeld began karting aged 11. He progressed to Formula Ford in 1994, winning multiple national championships before graduating to Formula Three . After finishing third in 1996 , Heidfeld won the German Formula Three Championship the following year , also winning

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1628-410: The 2009 season. In the last three races Heidfeld scored four points, ending in sixth place in the standings after being passed by Fernando Alonso at the last round of the season. However, Heidfeld became only the second driver to finish 18 races in a single season, after Tiago Monteiro completed the same feat with Jordan in 2005. Heidfeld also became the first driver to finish every single race in

1702-572: The Belgian Grand Prix , and was replaced by Rubens Barrichello . In August 2010, with Heidfeld not yet having driven the Mercedes MGP W01 car, the team released him from his contract so that he could become the Pirelli tyre company's test driver. Heidfeld tested a Toyota TF109 car fitted with Pirelli tyres on a number of occasions in 2010, ahead of the firm's replacement of Bridgestone as

1776-679: The Brazilian Grand Prix as he outscored rookie teammate Kimi Räikkönen . Heidfeld remained at Sauber for two further seasons before moving to Jordan in 2004 , where he scored multiple points finishes in the relatively uncompetitive EJ14 . He signed for Williams in 2005 , scoring several podiums amongst his maiden pole position at the European Grand Prix . Following a string of high-profile injuries, Heidfeld left Williams to re-join Sauber—now known as BMW Sauber —in 2006 . He scored eight podiums across four seasons with BMW Sauber, finishing

1850-560: The DTM touring car series. During the 1990s, two more future Grand Prix winners graduated from the German F3 Championship ;– Ralf Schumacher and Jarno Trulli  – together with many other notable drivers that include Alexander Wurz , Jos Verstappen , Norberto Fontana , Nick Heidfeld and Christijan Albers . The last champion of this period, Gary Paffett , went on to win the DTM drivers' championship title and worked as

1924-554: The Hungarian Grand Prix . Heidfeld departed Formula One with one pole position, two fastest laps and 13 podiums, the latter of which remains the record without winning a Grand Prix . Heidfeld moved to Formula E for its inaugural 2014–15 season with Venturi , achieving his first podium at the Moscow ePrix before joining Mahindra in 2015 . Over three seasons with Mahindra, Heidfeld scored seven further podiums before leaving at

1998-804: The McLaren - Mercedes Formula One team. In 1999, he won the International Formula 3000 Championship. That year he also took the official track record at the Goodwood Festival of Speed which stood for 20 years. He was also a member of the Mercedes squad that raced at the 1999 24 Hours of Le Mans , but the team withdrew after the Mercedes-Benz CLR back-flipped on the Mulsanne Straight while Mark Webber and Peter Dumbreck were driving. Heidfeld

2072-709: The Monaco F3 Grand Prix . He then finished runner-up to Juan Pablo Montoya in International F3000 , before winning the series in 1999 . A test driver for McLaren since 1998 , Heidfeld signed for Prost in 2000 to partner Jean Alesi , making his Formula One debut at the Australian Grand Prix . After a non-classified championship finish for Prost with the AP03 , Heidfeld moved to Sauber in 2001 , finishing fourth on debut and taking his maiden podium at

2146-579: The Revolutions of 1989 which was followed shortly after by the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991, leaving the United States the world's sole superpower. On 25 June 1950, after years of tension between communist North Korea and democratic South Korea , North Korea coordinated a series of surprise attacks against strategic points between the 38th parallel. Soon US-led United Nations forces joined

2220-427: The dissolution of the Soviet Union . The 1990s and the 21st century are sometimes described as part of the post-war era, but the more specific phrase " Post–Cold War era " is often appended to distinguish the period running from the fall of Communism up to the present. In Britain, "post-war": Nick Heidfeld Nick Lars Heidfeld ( German pronunciation: [nɪk laɐ̯sˈhaɪd.fɛlt] ; born 10 May 1977)

2294-454: The safety car came out. He eventually finished fourth. At Indianapolis, he was eliminated in a spectacular first lap accident which saw fellow drivers Scott Speed , Jenson Button , Kimi Räikkönen and Juan Pablo Montoya also go out. Heidfeld's car was launched into a quadruple barrel roll, but he and the other drivers all walked away unharmed. The Hungarian Grand Prix saw Heidfeld give BMW Sauber their first podium finish and best result of

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2368-581: The 1950s, African Americans faced discrimination and segregation throughout the United States, especially in the south where many could not even vote. In 1954, the Supreme Court ruled unanimously in Brown v. Board of Education that racial segregation in public schools was unconstitutional. By the end of the 1950s, fewer than 10 percent of Black children in the South were attending integrated schools. The Vietnam War

2442-611: The Championship class and the Trophy class. It is being built by Spiess and is based on the company's Opel engine, but with some technical changes to lengthen the service interval and reduce running costs. Source: [1] Post-war A post-war or postwar period is the interval immediately following the end of a war . The term usually refers to a varying period of time after World War II , which ended in 1945. A post-war period can become an interwar period or interbellum, when

2516-506: The Nürburgring's legendary 14 mile Nordschleife track, which made him the first driver in 31 years to pilot a current F1 car there. About 45,000 spectators attended the event, which was held after a four-hour VLN endurance race. After several months of negotiations, BMW confirmed that Heidfeld would stay with the team for 2008 . Heidfeld began the 2008 season strongly, finishing second in Australia after qualifying fifth. In Malaysia , he qualified fifth but dropped down to tenth at

2590-498: The back of Kamui Kobayashi and causing damage to his front wing, which broke under acceleration and collapsed under the car. He was forced to retire after his car caught fire after exiting the pit lane on lap 25 in the Hungarian Grand Prix. Heidfeld was replaced by Bruno Senna ahead of the Belgian Grand Prix . Heidfeld officially parted company with the team on 2 September 2011. In 2016, in an academic paper that reported

2664-626: The end of 2017–18 . Outside of formula racing , Heidfeld has entered six editions of the 24 Hours of Le Mans , winning the LMP1-L class in 2014 and finishing fourth overall twice. He competed in five seasons of the FIA World Endurance Championship from 2012 to 2016 with Rebellion , and finished runner-up in the American Le Mans Series in 2013 . Heidfeld served as chairman of the Grand Prix Drivers' Association in 2010. Heidfeld

2738-591: The end of the 2009 season, Heidfeld's future in Formula One was uncertain. It was mentioned that he was considered to drive for Mercedes GP alongside fellow German Nico Rosberg but the team signed another German in Michael Schumacher instead. McLaren was also a potential destination however these negotiations came to nothing as well. Heidfeld was then tipped for a seat at Sauber alongside Kamui Kobayashi but they decided to go with Pedro de la Rosa . Heidfeld

2812-542: The end of the season Macau Grand Prix and won the first heat of the race, attracting the attention of compatriot Norbert Haug , who later signed him up for the West Competition team. The following year Heidfeld won the German F3 Championship for Bertram Schäfer Racing, with support from McLaren/West, including a win at the Monaco Grand Prix Formula Three support race . In 1998, he won three races and

2886-582: The final lap to finish sixth, despite making six pitstops during the race. Heidfeld returned to form in Hungary, qualifying second and finishing third to score his and BMW's second podium of the season. He finished fourth at the Turkish and Italian Grand Prix , and fifth in the Belgian Grand Prix . He eventually finished a career-best fifth in the championship with 61 points, outpointing Kubica by 22 points. On 28 April 2007, Heidfeld drove three demonstration laps around

2960-420: The first corner after being pushed wide by Jarno Trulli . He got back up to sixth, also setting his first ever fastest lap in the process. In Bahrain he started from sixth place but he did not gain a place at the start, but passed Trulli and Heikki Kovalainen to climb up to fourth. He finished there and this fourth gave him second in the championship. After a few disappointing qualifying sessions and races in

3034-528: The following weeks (after which the German press started to call him "Leidfeld", with "Leid" meaning "misery" in German), Kubica and Heidfeld made BMW Sauber history by securing the third-year team's first victory, and first one-two finish respectively in Canada . Heidfeld was positioned eighth on the grid and after losing a place at the start, before gaining it back, was sitting comfortably in eighth place once again before

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3108-416: The height of the cold war, both superpowers manufactured and deployed thousands of nuclear weapons to target each other's key economic, military, and political centers. Each superpower's buildup and demonstration of nuclear strike capabilities lead to an unofficial military doctrine known as mutual assured destruction (MAD). The doctrine of MAD prompted leaders on both sides to believe that victory following

3182-587: The highest levels of touring car racing . 1985 champion Volker Weidler also competed in F1 and won the 24 Hours of Le Mans in 1991 . However, the 1990 champion was arguably the most notable of them all: Michael Schumacher . Four years before winning the first of his seven F1 World Championship titles, Schumacher had already attracted attention with his performances in F3 and the World Sportscar Championship at

3256-487: The inevitable cost increase that a pan-European event calendar would entail. Bertram Schäfer led moves to maintain some form of national F3 series in Germany, and had support from ADAC and the F3V (Germany's national F3 association). In 2003, the new series was inaugurated, with Schäfer himself functioning as the series promoter. The Recaro Formel 3 Cup had title sponsorship from Recaro , a racing parts company based in Germany. It

3330-439: The lighter BMW Sauber to build up a considerable lead on Heidfeld, who was occupied with preventing Fernando Alonso , also in a lighter car, from chasing Kubica. The gap built by Kubica allowed him to rejoin the race comfortably in the lead after his final pitstop with no threats behind him. Heidfeld finished the race second, solidifying his fifth-place position in the driver's points although his post-race body language suggested he

3404-629: The most eclectic F3 championships in the world, with some of the variety that F3 enjoyed in the 1970s. In addition to the ubiquitous Dallaras, the Lola B06/30 and the SLC R1 from Signature have established a foothold. The SLC, which was the Signature team's first foray into chassis construction, had previously competed in the F3 Euroseries in 2005, but Signature chose not to continue using it. The Lola, which

3478-510: The most popular, but some teams use the Mugen-Honda, TOM's-Toyota and even the older Sodemo- Renault . This is in stark contrast to the Euroseries, in which Mercedes powered all bar five of the 2006 entrants. However, the 2007 Formel 3 Cup season is likely to see a different pattern emerge, with the introduction of a new "Challenge" engine, which is expected to be chosen by a number of teams in both

3552-466: The race after a collision this time with Franck Montagny but to add insult to injury, he was excluded from the 19th position finish for changing his car outside the permitted area during his pit stop, meaning he cannot count the race as a round where he drops a score. Heidfeld lives in Stäfa , Switzerland with his fiancée, daughter (born 2005), and sons (born 2007, 2010). He has an elder brother, Tim, and

3626-448: The season with an SLC R1. During the 2006 season, a fourth chassis joined the series on an experimental basis. The Ligier JS47, which was built by Martini after Guy Ligier acquired the company in 2005, was used in selected rounds by Nico Hülkenberg , driving for Josef Kaufmann Racing. The engine supply market in the Formel 3 Cup is just as open. The H.W.A.-Mercedes and Spiess-Opel are

3700-577: The season with three points. During the winter of 2004–2005, Heidfeld tested with the Williams team, in a 'shootout' against Antônio Pizzonia for the second race seat alongside Mark Webber . At the Williams launch on 31 January 2005, it was announced that Heidfeld would be the race driver for the team in 2005 , replacing the McLaren-bound Juan Pablo Montoya. He performed well throughout

3774-528: The season, often finishing ahead of teammate Webber. At the seventh race of the 2005 season at the Nürburgring circuit, his home Grand Prix, Heidfeld took his first and only pole position. In Monaco he finished second, which he equalled at the Nürburgring in the same season. Heidfeld missed the Italian and Belgian Grands Prix due to injuries suffered in a testing accident. Scheduled to come back for Brazil , he

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3848-716: The sport's sole tyre supplier in 2011 . Heidfeld completed three tests for Pirelli in Mugello , Paul Ricard and Jerez before being released from his duties to join Sauber, with his place being taken by Romain Grosjean . In September 2010, Heidfeld returned to the Formula One grid, replacing Pedro de la Rosa at the Sauber team for the remainder of the 2010 season . This marked his third spell with them. On 4 October 2010, Sauber confirmed their driver line-up for 2011 as Kamui Kobayashi and Sergio Pérez , seemingly leaving Heidfeld without

3922-580: The start of race. On 10 April 2011, Heidfeld finished third, after starting sixth, in the Malaysian Grand Prix at Sepang , breaking Stefan Johansson 's record of 12 podiums without a win. He added another 12th place in China , before a seventh-place finish in Turkey after a close battle with teammate Petrov. Two eighth places in Spain and Monaco were followed by a retirement at the Canadian Grand Prix , after running into

3996-772: The support package for the ADAC GT Masters championship). However, in January 2015 it was announced that the series would not be held in 2015, although it was hoped that it could be revived in the near future. Despite the fact that F3 is still an open formula for which any chassis builder or engine tuner can supply a product provided that it meets the technical regulations, most championships have just one de facto choice of chassis supplier – usually Dallara  – and two or three popular engine suppliers – usually Mugen-Honda , Mercedes-Benz , Spiess- Opel , or TOM's - Toyota . The Formel 3 Cup has bucked this trend to become one of

4070-530: The time being, he had reversed the performance deficit to his teammate. Another second-place finish at the Belgian Grand Prix, followed by 5th and 6th-place finishes in Italy and Singapore respectively put him just one point behind current World Champion Kimi Räikkönen with just three races remaining. It was confirmed on 6 October that both Heidfeld and teammate Kubica would remain at the BMW Sauber team for

4144-514: The war on behalf of South Korea, expelled the North Korean invasion, and then invaded and nearly captured North Korea. In response, Chinese forces entered the war on behalf of North Korea and pushed the US, South Korean, and UN forces back to the 38th parallel. After 3 years of advances and retreats nearly five million people died. To this very day there are still border disputes between the two Koreas. In

4218-408: The year, when he finished third, even though he had only qualified tenth on the grid. At the end of 2006, Heidfeld was quoted attacking the media's saturation coverage of his teammate Robert Kubica , who had scored fewer points than him. This has happened two other times in the German's career; in 2001 when he was teammates with Kimi Räikkönen (whom he beat twelve points to nine) and in 2002, when he

4292-413: Was a geopolitical conflict between the capitalist and liberal "democratic" United States , the authoritarian and Communist Marxist–Leninist Soviet Union , and their respective allies: NATO and the Western Bloc for the United States, and the Warsaw Pact and the Eastern Bloc for the Soviet Union. Although both sides did not fight each other directly, both engaged through various proxy wars. At

4366-493: Was adopted in a revived German F3 Championship in 1960, which was won by Gerhard Mitter . The 1961 title was won by Kurt Ahrens Jr. , who became champion again in 1963. He was effectively a back-to-back winner, because there was no championship in 1962. In 1964, the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA) ended Formula Junior and returned to Formula Three, but this time with 1000cc four- cylinder production-based engines. However, it would be ten years before Formula Three

4440-401: Was announced that Heidfeld would race with the financially strapped Jordan team, alongside rookie Giorgio Pantano . The EJ14 was an upgrade of the previous season's uncompetitive EJ13 and proved slow. Despite this, Heidfeld often outperformed the car, finishing ahead of more competitive vehicles. He finished seventh at the Monaco Grand Prix and eighth at the Canadian Grand Prix and finished

4514-502: Was born in Mönchengladbach , West Germany on 10 May 1977, and began racing karts at the age of 11 in 1988. In 1994 he moved into the German Formula Ford series, gaining widespread attention by winning 8 of the 9 races to take the title that season. In 1995 he won the German International Formula Ford 1800 Championship, and came second in the Zetec Cup . This led to a drive in the German Formula Three Championship for 1996, where he finished third overall, after taking 3 wins. He entered

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4588-408: Was developed after the British company's collaboration with Dome came to an end, has otherwise had only limited use in British F3 during 2006. Swiss Racing Team had provisionally lodged two entries for a pair of Mygale M06/F3 chassis in addition to a single Dallara entry. Before the start of the season, however, it had changed its line-up to four Dallaras, one of which was later replaced during

4662-434: Was fought between the communist North Vietnam supported by the Soviet Union, China , and the Eastern Bloc and China and South Vietnam supported by the United States and SEATO . This war is especially brutal due to North Vietnamese regular forces and Viet Cong insurgents in South Vietnam adapting to guerrilla fighting and ambush tactics against the South Vietnamese military and the United States Armed Forces . Vietnam

4736-485: Was injured again when hit by a motorbike when out cycling, and therefore forced to sit out the rest of the season. Heidfeld gained a contract with his then Williams' engine supplier, BMW , when they bought the Sauber team ( BMW and Sauber merger) and entered Formula One as BMW Sauber for the 2006 season , replacing Felipe Massa who was bound for Ferrari . During 2006 Heidfeld scored points several times for his new team. At Melbourne he ran as high as second until

4810-410: Was notable for BMW 's first foray into open-wheeled racing as an engine supplier, having enjoyed success in pre-war motorcycle racing and touring cars . The 500cc Formula 3 specification was superseded in 1958 by Formula Junior , with engine capacities of 1000cc (360 kg chassis ) or 1100cc (400 kg chassis ) that were derived from production cars, rather than motorcycles. This new specification

4884-428: Was one of the first wars to be broadcast to television . Many American civilians and soldiers were opposed to the war due to the condition and many thought the war was pointless. Finally after many protests the United States slowly withdrew from Vietnam due to public backlash. Considering the post-war era as equivalent to the Cold War era, post-war sometimes includes the 1980s, putting the end at 26 December 1991, with

4958-424: Was replaced in 2007 by wheel manufacturer ATS . In 2005, a two-tier championship class system was adopted for chassis specifications from the previous three-year lifecycle. This system was adopted by the British F3 Championship in the 1990s and has since gained favour in many other F3 championships throughout Europe. It can provide an important entry point for drivers and teams without a competitive budget. After

5032-409: Was revived in Germany. The first German F3 champion of this era was Ernst Maring , who won the title in 1975. He was also the first non-German driver to win the title. Other notable drivers of this era were two-time champions Bertram Schäfer (1976 and 1978) and Frank Jelinski (1980–81). Schäfer drove for his eponymous team, Bertram Schäfer Racing, which also won the championship with Jelinski. BSR became

5106-405: Was runner-up in the International Formula 3000 championship, with the West Competition team . At the final race of the season he was demoted to the back of the grid from pole position, after his team used non-compliant fuel. He finished the race ninth and out of the points, losing the championship by seven points to Juan Pablo Montoya . During that season, he was also the official test driver for

5180-476: Was signed as a race driver for the Prost Grand Prix F1 team for the 2000 season , alongside Formula One veteran Jean Alesi . Heidfeld struggled with his new car and suffered a string of retirements, as well as colliding with his teammate on more than one occasion. He departed Prost at the end of that season, before signing a three-year contract with Sauber for 2001 . He was partnered with then rookie driver Kimi Räikkönen . Heidfeld scored his first podium with

5254-406: Was teammates with Felipe Massa (whom he beat by seven points to four). Räikkönen and Massa later formed the 2007 Ferrari driver line-up. Heidfeld started the 2007 season strongly. In Bahrain , he chased down and overtook reigning world champion Fernando Alonso around the outside, finishing half a minute ahead of his BMW teammate Kubica. He scored three fourth places in the opening three races,

5328-405: Was then in the running for a Renault seat alongside fellow BMW Sauber refugee Robert Kubica , but on 4 February, Heidfeld was confirmed as the test and reserve driver for Mercedes. At the Australian Grand Prix , Heidfeld was chosen to succeed Pedro de la Rosa as Chairman of the Grand Prix Drivers' Association . He left the position upon taking the role of Pirelli 's test driver ahead of

5402-462: Was third, but as set out in the regulations, the result was taken at the end of the penultimate completed lap, when Heidfeld had been running second. Because less than 75% of the race distance had been covered, the drivers only received half points. He scored a further 2 points at the Spanish Grand Prix , and finished 5th at Spa to score another 4 points. A seventh-place finish at Monza added

5476-587: Was unhappy to have ceded a potential win for the benefit of the team. Heidfeld had a disappointing race in France , failing to score any points. He came back strongly at the British Grand Prix , starting fifth and finishing second in the wet conditions. Another strong performance, where he set the fastest lap of the race for the second time this season, was his home grand prix at the Hockenheimring showed that, for

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