F1's refugees are slowly finding themselves some alternative work for the future, with Nick Heidfeld finally confirming his switch to sportscar racing, while Rubens Barrichello has admitted an Indycar switch would interest him.
Heidfeld has been out of a full-time drive since being dropped by Renault midway through the 2011 season, and failed to find an alternative F1 drive for this season.
Instead, the German will race a part-time programme with the Rebellion Racing team at the 2012 Le Mans 24 Hours, and selected rounds of the new FIA World Endurance Championship.
As well as the famous La Sarthe event, Heidfeld will drive at next month's Sebring 12 Hours, as well as the traditional Le Mans practice event at Spa-Francorchamps.
He will share one of the team's Toyota-powered Lola Coupes with occasional Red Bull tester Neel Jani and famous surname Nicolas Prost.
"I am really looking forward to this new challenge and I am especially excited that the first race in Sebring, being a new circuit for me, is only a few weeks away," Ickle grinned on Wednesday.
He added: "I am very happy to join Rebellion Racing and hope I can help building up on their already impressive achievements."
Rebellion boss Bart Hayden added: "Nick will be a valuable addition to the team, he is quick, highly-experienced, enthusiastic and very happy to be part of Rebellion Racing.
"We are pleased to welcome Nick to the team and are looking forward to the start of the season next month at the Sebring 12 Hours, opening round of the new FIA World Endurance Championship."
Heidfeld has raced at Le mans once before, in the 1999 event for Mercedes.
His race ended early that year, when the Mercedes-Benz CLR infamously flipped out of the race while being driven by co-driver Peter Dumbreck.
Meanwhile, Barrichello is now seriously considering a switch to Indycar for 2012, after testing for the KV Racing team earlier in the week at Sebring.
Although no times from the test were released, the team were reportedly impressed with the Brazilian, and the veteran of 19 consecutive F1 seasons admitted he was considering a switch for 2012.
"Right now, I'm truly happy and I like what I saw," he grinned, "I just need to see what comes up. I need to talk to my family, I need to talk to [the team]."
On the test itself, he added: "I feel like a kid. You could call me a rookie, even though I have 33 years in this job.
"In the morning I was getting used to the car and not doing anything silly because obviously you don't want to put it in the wall."
Barrichello suggested last year that he would not consider Indycar after his F1 career, due to safety concerns over oval racing.
However, the Brazilian could likely secure a part-time drive in the series to compete at the road and street courses on the calendar.
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