Delighted with Spa being back on the calendar - Heidfeld

Following a one-year break, this weekend Formula One returns to Belgium's Spa-Francorchamps. BMW Sauber F1 Team driver Nick Heidfeld is delighted that the historic Belgian circuit makes its comeback as a GP venue this year.

"I'm delighted with Spa being back on the calendar," says the German. A remark that doesn't come as a surprise, after all, he has been waiting quite a while to have the chance of racing on the "Ardennes Rollercoaster" once again, since he contested his last Belgian GP way back in 2004. In 2005, the consequences of a bicycle accident prevented him from racing at Spa, and Nick wasn't there when the BMW Sauber F1 Team tested at the Ardennes circuit in July.

"Spa is a very beautiful circuit featuring some truly special sections," says Nick Heidfeld. "The world famous Eau Rouge is a must for spectators. The speed and power of the cars is really impressive when you see them rushing down the hill, going through Eau Rouge and accelerating uphill again. For us drivers, the depression is not a physical problem at all, we are not used to it, usually, we have to deal with g-forces while cornering or under braking."

This weekend's Belgian Grand Prix will be the 40th Formula One race to be held at Spa. Nick was on the grid for four of these races and contested another two Formula 3000 events at the Belgian racetrack. "Despite Spa being not too far from my hometown of Mönchengladbach I haven't raced there too often," says Nick. "In my days as a 'young gun', neither Formula Ford nor Formula 3 held races in Belgium."