From second place in Canada,
Nick Heidfeld came within 14 seconds of being the highest profile qualifying casualty, not just of the French Grand Prix, but of the
Formula One season as a whole as he struggled to get his
BMW Sauber into Q2 at Magny-Cours.
The German took three attempts, the last on the softer
Bridgestone tyre, to escape 18th place in the order, crossing the start-finish line to commence his flier with just 14 seconds remaining on the clock. The ensuing lap proved good enough for twelfth spot on the timesheets, three places into the 'safety' zone, and condemned
Williams'
Kazuki Nakajima to the cut.
The Japanese driver joined the two Hondas, with
Jenson Button just edging
Rubens Barrichello, and the two Force Indias, which will form the final row, in the bottom five, while
Nico Rosberg just avoided joining his Williams partner.
The German will, of course, take a ten-place penalty on his final qualifying position, as will
Lewis Hamilton, but the Briton appears to have less to fear after heading the session for some time, and only being pushed back to fourth by late improvements for fastest man
Felipe Massa,
Kimi Raikkonen and
Toyota's
Jarno Trulli.
