Germany's Nick Heidfeld will replace Spaniard Pedro de la Rosa and return to Sauber for the remaining five races of the season, the Formula One team said Tuesday. Heidfeld, 33, was the Mercedes reserve driver this season until taking on the role of tester for next year's sole tire provider Pirelli. The experienced and highly regarded German has spent much of his career with Swiss-based Sauber, racing for them from 2001-03 and from 2006 until BMW quit the sport at the end of last season. De la Rosa, 39, was making a comeback after years as McLaren reserve and after three seasons out. The Spaniard had struggled to be competitive, with Japanese rookie Kamui Kobayashi scoring 21 of the Ferrari-powered team's 27 points so far. “It was a hard decision for me to make as a team principal and I want to thank Pedro for his professionalism,” said Peter Sauber in a statement. “By signing Nick we have a driver we know extremely well who will help us to further judge the comparative potential of our car.” De la Rosa, whose last full season was with Jaguar in 2002, did not hide his disappointment at being dropped despite finishing 14th in Sunday's Italian Grand Prix. “I am surprised by the team's decision but I respect it and would like to wish everyone good luck for the remainder of the season. I still intend to be in Formula One for 2011,” he said in the team statement. Heidfeld, who has never won a race in 167 starts but has finished second eight times, was delighted to get back in the cockpit and said he felt like he was coming home. “I'm looking forward like crazy to having the opportunity to go racing again in a good car in Formula One from the Singapore Grand Prix onwards,” he said. “After the last months I'm even more motivated than ever. Without doubt I will be feeling at home straight away and this should help me to familiarize myself as soon as possible with the car.” ‘Raikkonen approaches Renault' Former world champion Kimi Raikkonen has put himself back in the frame for a Formula One return with Renault, according to team boss Eric Boullier. “He is on the radar because he contacted us,” the autosport.com website quoted the Frenchman as saying after Sunday's Italian Grand Prix at Monza. Raikkonen won the 2007 title with Ferrari but the Finn has spent the last year in the world rally championship after being replaced by Spaniard Fernando Alonso at the Italian team. Recent reports have suggested he would stay in rallying with Citroen. “You never know but I will probably never return to Formula One,” French newspaper L'Equipe quoted the 30-year-old as saying last month. Renault has yet to announce its second driver for 2011, with only Poland's Robert Kubica confirmed, but has said it is willing to give Russian rookie Vitaly Petrov, who finished 13th in Monza after scoring points in his three previous races, time to prove himself. Boullier said the team was getting more and more approaches from drivers and Raikkonen was one of them. “We need to think about it. But the priority is Vitaly, and to see how he will develop. If we are convinced then we will keep him definitely. This is the first option. “There are several other options, and one of them is Kimi.”
