urosport -
Mon, 14 Apr 10:37:00 2008



After a difficult start to his Formula One career, Nelson Piquet has vowed to emulate Heikki Kovalainen and begin to rise up the grid.


More Stories

• More Formula One news
  
• 2008 Calendar
  

Kovalainen, the Finnish rookie who switched to McLaren for 2008, was slammed by Renault boss Flavio Briatore following a dire debut in Australia last year.
Piquet had a similarly grim Melbourne opener for the team, and has been consistently out-qualified by team-mate Fernando Alonso.
Alonso, meanwhile, has scored six points so far with the identical R28 car, compared with Piquet's tally of zero.
"I am frustrated," he told French magazine Autohebdo. "But I am not disappointed.
"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."
Piquet
explained that the R28 is not competitive in any area and also insisted
that, unlike Briatore's severe early appraisal of predecessor
Kovalainen, his team boss is backing him.
"The problem is
engine, chassis and aerodynamics," he said. "We have talked quietly and
he says that I should remain calm and that things will get better.
"Kovalainen also had problems at the beginning, and then he was able to get stronger. I have to do the same."
F1 Live / Eurosport