Former BMW star pulls back the curtain on how Jenson Button and Michael Schumacher ruined his opportunity to join a big team

Nick Heidfield, former F1 driver, spoke about missing out on two opportunities to join top teams on the grid due to the movement of Michael Schumacher and Jenson Button.

Heidfield joined the sport in 2000 and started his career with Prost, moving to Sauber and Jordan, and spending his longest stint from 2005 to 2010 with BMW. The 2010 season saw openings at McLaren and Mercedes, giving the former Formula 3000 champion his first chance at a top-tier team.

However, seven-time world champion Schumacher made his return to F1 the same year after a four-year hiatus. He was looking to replace the outgoing Jenson Button at Mercedes.

Button was leaving Brawn F1, which became Mercedes in 2010. Speaking about losing out a spot with the Brackley-based team, Heidfield said in a video from the Formel1.de YouTube channel (via PlanetF1):

“Of course it was annoying, but if you can get Michael back, who wouldn’t? In the end, it was actually closer at McLaren.

After Button left the Brawn-turned-Mercedes team, he was looking for a spot on the grid after winning the 2009 WDC. He was picked by McLaren for the 2010 season, causing Heidfield to lose out on his second option to join a top-tier team.

Michael Schumacher's first season with Mercedes saw him finish ninth in the drivers championship, scoring 72 points. Button, meanwhile, ended fifth, winning two races, securing seven podiums and scoring 214 points.

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Nick Heidfield talks first-hand experience seeing Michael Schumacher work with Mercedes

(L-R) Drivers Nick Heidfeld, Michael Schumacher, and Sebastian Vettel share a joke as they line up for a photograph before practice for the Korean Formula One Grand Prix - Source: Getty

Before Heidfield re-joined BMW Sauber for five races towards the end of the 2010 season, he was selected as a third driver for Mercedes, which had Schumacher and Nico Rosberg.

Heidfield spoke about how it was impressive to experience seven-time champion Schumacher from close quarters (via PlanetF1):

“When he spoke, there was absolute silence, and everyone listened carefully. The way he worked with the team, in addition to the undisputed driving talent he always had, was what impressed me the most.”

He described his German driver's working style with engineers:

“I had often heard or read about it, but to experience it firsthand, how structured his approach was, how precisely he worked with the team, how he found out what needed to be analyzed now, where he couldn’t let up, in conversation with engineers — that was really impressive.”

Michael Schumacher and Nick Heidfield raced against each other for one final season in 2011, with Heidfield joining Lotus Renault. After 2011, Heidfield retired from F1, while Schumacher retired for good after the 2012 season.