B. T. looking back on the Danish Formula 1-drivers, and today it is Nicolas Kiesa.
Nicolas Kiesa was not the obvious choice for a seat in Formula 1 in the spring of 2003.
But a lucky victory in the Formula 3000 race at Monaco Grand Prix, a skilled manager and an effective sponsor did the 25-year-old back to the just the fourth dane in motor sport kongeklasse.
the Victory in Monaco came when the otherwise sovereign Björn Wirdheim snorksov.
the Swede was on the way to a sure victory, when he would wave to his mechanics, as he drove over the finish line.
He was just not aware of exactly where the line was, and while he was busy waving, sped Kiesa past and snatched the victory.
Now all known in the Formula 1 paddock suddenly the dane, who in two years had driven for inferior teams in Formula 3000.
As Minardi a few months later suddenly lacked a running, saw Kiesa manager, Piers Hunnisett, and his sponsor Peugeot Denmark, to the dane got the chance.
Minardi, who was later bought by Red Bull and renamed Toro Rosso and today, Alpha Tauri, was the field’s smallest and poorest team in 2003.
Kiesas talent was not enough, for there was also money on the table.
That was five years back, and Kiesas hinterland had to pay a total of 1.2 million u.s. dollars or approximately one and a half million dollars per. run.
As a debutant in the field, the smallest team did Kiesa it well. He completed all five races and Minardi chief Paul Stoddart would continue the cooperation with the tech-savvy briton in 2004.
But now there is inflation in the Formula 1. Big factories were on the way into the box, and budgets exploded. The seat, Kiesa occupied the year before, the cost in 2004, the six million dollar.
Kiesa and his hinterland struggled for months to find the millions of. It was not successful, but in 2005 got Kiesa – with support from a Danish ejendomsspekulant – a short-lived Formula 1 comeback as tredjekører for Jordan-Midland. Then came the financial crisis, and so was Kiesas Formula 1 adventure is over.
“I feel I should have had a long Formula 1 career, and I’m still bitter over the fact that it failed,” said Kiesa, who today is the tv expert of the CHRONICALLY.
Here he is colleague of the man who kick-started his Formula 1 career: Björn Wirdheimsom. commenting kongeklassen on Swedish television.
