Gérard Lopez, head of Renault team owner Genii Capital, admits that he was taken aback by Nick Heidfeld’s reaction to being replaced in the car by Bruno Senna. The German has launched legal proceedings against the Enstone squad, with a hearing set to take place at London’s High Court on Monday 19 September.
With reserve driver Senna having raced at Spa and also being Vitaly Petrov’s team-mate for Monza, Heidfeld has been left on the sidelines for the time being.
“If we would not be confident that we had a case then we wouldn’t follow it up, so yes I believe that is the situation,” Heidfeld has already said when asked if he is confident of winning the legal case, claiming the driver swap is in breach of contract.
“Nick has always been a good colleague of mine; we still talked on the phone yesterday,” Lopez told Luxembourg publication Tageblatt.
“He had all the normal pressures and we told him that his performances were not, in our opinion, what we expected from him. He was always treated us with respect and he will continue to do so because he is still member of the team.”
When asked if he was surprised by Heidfeld’s decision to take action against the team, Lopez responded: “I'd say that was the emotional reaction of a man who likes to race for a living. Surprising, yes.”
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Heidfeld confident of winning legal battle
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