Heidfeld to sue Renault if dropped

Nick Heidfeld

(GMM) Nick Heidfeld could sue Renault if the team confirms its reported plans to drop him for the rest of the 2011 season.

Enstone based Renault on Tuesday released its usual pre-race quotes ahead of the Spa-Francorchamps race weekend but did not mention the proposed driver lineup.

The development comes amid rumors Bruno Senna, apparently with millions in potential Brazilian sponsorship, is set to replace German Heidfeld in Belgium and beyond.

But Daily Telegraph correspondent Tom Cary on Tuesday said Heidfeld, 34, would likely tackle those plans with legal action.

"The (newspaper) understands that … Heidfeld … is prepared to use legal channels to hang on to his race seat," said Cary.

He added that Heidfeld "may argue that it is unreasonable to replace him on grounds of performance" given that he has actually scored more points than teammate Vitaly Petrov so far.