It was Nick Heidfeld's turn to step up to the plate for Renault on Sunday when he finished in third place at the Malaysian Grand Prix.
German driver back on the podium as Renault's strong start continues
It was Nick Heidfeld's turn to step up to the plate for Renault on Sunday when the German driver claimed their second successive podium finish at the Malaysian Grand Prix.
Heidfeld, who is racing for Renault as a replacement for Robert Kubica while he recovers from injuries sustained in a pre-season rally crash, finished third behind Sebastian Vettel and Jenson Button.
The result comes as a boost for the 33-year-old after he could only finish 14th in the season-opener in Australia, a race that saw team-mate Vitaly Petrov finish third.
Heidfeld made a flying start at Sepang and climbed from sixth on the grid to second place on the opening lap.
"I had a great start just like in Australia, and did not expect to make up so many positions," he said. "I moved up to P2, making up four places. After that I did my best to follow Sebastian (Vettel) but he was much quicker. "
Despite losing places to Lewis Hamilton, Button and Fernando Alonso during the first sequence of pit stops, Heidfeld remained on the pace.
He was running fourth when Hamilton and Alonso collided on lap 46 and passed the Ferrari driver soon after when he was forced to pit for repairs.
Good pace
Hamilton's car also suffered minor damage in the incident but the McLaren driver's tyres were also badly worn, with Heidfeld taking third place with five laps to go.
He then fended off a resurgent Mark Webber to hold on for his first podium finish since finishing second in the same race two years ago.
"I lost a couple of places at my first pit stop, but it's clear we had really good pace and we were able to fight with the cars ahead," Heidfeld said.
"I got lucky with Fernando (Alonso) having a problem, but it was great fun fighting and getting ahead of Lewis (Hamilton). In the final few laps Mark (Webber) was close behind me but we had the pace to stay ahead.
"It's great a podium for Renault, and a great step forward for the team," he added.
Petrov, meanwhile, was running eighth before retiring on lap 53 when he ran wide and damaged his car as he steered it back towards the track.
"I made a small mistake which shouldn't have had the consequences it had," the Russian said. "I went wide and the car took off on the curb, landing hard.
"Both cars should have been in the points today, but the good news is that we clearly have the pace needed to compete this season."
