Hoping Fuji won't bring torrential rain - Heidfeld

Last year heavy rainfall hampered the first Japanese Grand Prix to be staged in Fuji since 1977. BMW Sauber F1 Team driver Nick Heidfeld looks back at last season's race, and hopes for better conditions this weekend.

"Firstly, I'm hoping Fuji won't bring the kind of torrential rain we had in 2007," says Heidfeld. "Basically I enjoy driving in the rain, but with last year's deluge it was just impossible. Visibility was zero, which led to a number of collisions. Somebody drove into my car as well, and damaged it. Even so, shortly before the end I was in sixth place, but then an engine problem put me out of the race."

Fuji replaced Suzuka as the venue for the Japanese Grand Prix in 2007. Although Suzuka was one of Nick's favourite courses on the race calendar for years, he also thoroughly enjoys the current venue. "It's a fun circuit," says the German. "There are lots of uphill and downhill gradients and several blind corners. One feature of the Fuji circuit that stands out is its extremely long straight."