Sep.25 (GMM) Nick Heidfeld has admitted he feels some sympathy for Pedro de la Rosa, the regular Sauber driver who was ousted before this weekend's Singapore grand prix.

German Heidfeld, who is now sitting in de la Rosa's cockpit after serving most of 2010 as test driver for Mercedes and latterly Pirelli, made a solid return to F1 on Friday by getting within a tenth of the pace of his new teammate Kamui Kobayashi.

Asked if he feels slightly bad about making his return by sending de la Rosa home, the 33-year-old answered: "Of course.

"I'm friends with Pedro," Heidfeld said in an interview with the Swiss newspaper Blick.

"We meet from time to time -- we live close to each other. I have spoken with him. He understands my situation.

"He knows I had to take the chance and couldn't say 'Pedro is a nice guy, so I'll go without'," added the veteran of 170 grands prix.

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