BIO:Began car racing in 1994 in Formula Ford 1600, and took the 1800 title in 1995 before moving up to German F3, finishing third in the title behind Jarno Trulli in 1996, before winning the title himself in 1997.

Graduated to F3000, where he was again runner-up in his first year to Juan-Pablo Montoya, before clinching the championship in 1999 and moving into F1 with the Prost team. A move to Sauber in 2001 saw his first points and first podium finish. His F1 career looked over when Sauber let him go at the end of 2003, and Heidfeld spent a season impressing with the backmarker Jordan team before getting a plum drive with Williams-BMW, taking a pole and three podium finishes. He moved to BMW Sauber in 2006 and has been with the team ever since, but was yet to score a win at the beginning of 2010.

That year, Pedro de la Rosa joined the team, but Heidfeld replaced him for the final five races during that season. It looked like he would be out of a ride again when the 2011 season came around, but a rally crash during the off season sidelined Robert Kubica, and Heidfeld took his place.