Nelson Piquet says he still feels the Renault team is behind him, despite his continued struggle for form.
The Brazilian showed better pace in Bahrain, where he took 10th place, although previously his error-strewn Chinese Grand Prix had come in for heavy criticism from famously outspoken team boss Flavio Briatore.
He admitted that the senior management’s irascible style could be tough to handle, but he said the personnel that he worked most closely with were fully committed to helping him turn his fortunes around.
“Obviously there are a lot of people in the team that don’t like doing cuddling, but you have to live with that,” said Piquet.
Click Here For More Formula 1 Photos
“Obviously the people that work the closest to me are trying and I’m very happy to have them because they’re them becase they’re really trying to do everything possible to help me get back into the rhythm of qualifying.” ITV
Boss Flavio Briatore has not publicly condemned Piquet, but behind the scenes I am told he is far from happy with the youngster’s downright disappointing showings so far this campaign.
His qualifying sessions have been disastrously off the pace and his race efforts have been riddled with errors, so much so that the countdown has begun on an early closure of his F1 career.
In stark contrast, his partner Fernando Alonso, twice the world champion, has been in brighter form with the same level of car and that has served to sabotage even more Piquet’s chances of survival. Gulf News
“I think I need to get qualifying sorted,” the 23-year-old said at the Spanish Grand Prix on Thursday.
“My strong point always in my career was qualifying. Of course in the lower categories it doesn’t mean much but in Brazil or in England or in GP2, I have been the driver that has done the most pole positions in the all years that I have raced.
“I am struggling this year a little bit more,” added the Brazilian.
Click Here For More Formula 1 Photos
“I should have been much better in qualifying but a bit of lacking testing, new tyres, a new car and new regulations—that kind of made it a bit more difficult for me.
“I am hoping that getting to circuits that are a little bit more familiar may help me a little bit more to get the little extra edge,” he added. Yahoo! Eurosport
| 
|