Planet-F1

Nelsinho: I'm not to blame

Tuesday 15th April 2008

After a trying start to the season, Nelson Piquet Jr is at least drawing some comfort from his team-mate Fernando Alonso's similar struggles.

Both Renault drivers have found themselves to be well off the pace in the opening events of this season, which means scoring points have proven to be a difficult task.

Alonso managed to do so in the first two races, however, in Australia he was one of only seven drivers to compete the grand prix, while in Malaysia he only just made it into the top eight.

In Bahrain, though, the double World Champion struggled in the midfield, finishing down in 10th place.

His Sakhir results mirrored the experiences that Piquet Jr has gone through this season and gave the Brazilian some hope that at least he knows the blame for his lack of points doesn't rest on his shoulders.

"I am frustrated but I am not disappointed," he told French magazine Autohebdo.

"I would be disappointed if it was a really different story for Alonso, but when you see how difficult it was for him to get to Q3 in Bahrain, and how he couldn't secure points in the race, then my position is also understandable.

"That doesn't satisfy me - but it takes some pressure from my shoulders."

Meanwhile the Brazilian is hoping for a better race when the F1 circus stops in Barcelona next weekend for the Spanish GP after a successful opening day of testing at the track.

"I thought the car was very good today and we have another three days of testing and there's margin to improve. I think I'm optimistic that we can put both cars in the top ten in qualifying," he told Autosport.

However, whether his fifth placed finish during Monday's test means Renault have closed the gap to Ferrari and McLaren remains to be seen as some teams were testing various options that will only be used next season when the F1 rules change.

"A lot of people are running slicks tyres and different wings, so to be honest I cannot say. I was more worried about us," he said.

"Everybody knows everybody is running different fuel loads so it's not easy to say. I was very, very happy with the car compared to the previous test here. So I'm quite happy with the day."