Mercedes GP reserve driver Nick Heidfeld has admitted that he has found it difficult to adjust to life away from competitive racing this season, after the former BMW driver missed out on a race seat for the 2010 season.
Heidfeld missed out on a driver this season, despite being courted by Mercedes GP, after Michael Schumacher decided to come out of retirement to drive alongside Nico Rosberg.
And with few other established seats remaining to choose from, Heidfeld instead opted to become the new Mercedes reserve driver.
And he admitted after the second race of the year in Melbourne that he was still struggling to adapt to being an F1 spectator, after racing in the sport since the year 2000.
"It feels strange, especially when it's just before qualifying, I'm struggling with it," he said to the German press, "Before, [qualifying] was always a moment where you had the adrenaline rush and then off you went. I really miss it."
He added that he still felt confident he would return to the sport in the future, saying: "I am convinced that I will get a place in a [race] car again, although of course I am worried and would prefer to be there now."
Meanwhile, Michael Schumacher has received a vote of confidence from Mercedes motorsport boss, despite the returning seven-time champion having a less-than stellar start to his return.
Schumacher could only finish 10th in the Australian GP last weekend, and has scored just 9 points in the opening two races having been outraced on both occasions by Rosberg.
But despite intense smug media criticism of Schumacher, Haug insisted that the old magic was still there, and that Schumacher will perform in 2010.
"He has got it. And we have one of the strongest driver pairings in the field," Haug told Autosport.
"It is up to us to improve the package further. It is fair to say we improved it on this track compared to Bahrain, which was a completely different story."
He also pointed out that Schumacher had been blocked by Alonso in qualifying, and added that Schumacher remains relaxed in the team.
"If you look Saturday morning, if you look at the times, if you look at qualifying Michael was handicapped behind Alonso, and it is fair to say it was a very comparable lap to Nico," Haug rambled, "And I think Nico is one of the highest rated guys of the current generation, with four years experience.
"Michael is missing three years of these four years, but he is here to be competitive. And he could sit on his sofa saying, 'nobody won more than I did', but this is his passion."
He added that: "He is a more relaxed guy than ever, he has fun, he is a very good team member, team player – the two guys, you see it in press conferences, they have fun with each other and make jokes with each – but still very focused."
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