FORUMula1.com

[Denthúl]

In 2008 I scored 19 points, finished once on the podium in second place, having the best debut year of a Brazilian driver in F1.

Surely not...

Fittipaldi scored 16 with 3 podiums

Emerson Fittipaldi?

Nevermind, reading the wrong line >.<

[Amanda]

In 2008 I scored 19 points, finished once on the podium in second place, having the best debut year of a Brazilian driver in F1.

Surely not...

Fittipaldi scored 16 with 3 podiums

Emerson Fittipaldi?

Yeah, on his first full season.

[scotty]

In 2008 I scored 19 points, finished once on the podium in second place, having the best debut year of a Brazilian driver in F1.

Surely not...

Senna only scored 13 points on his debut but he had 3 podiums, he unfortunately had a lot of retirements
Piquet snr scored 3 points in '79 with no podiums
Massa scored 4 points with no podiums
Barrichello scored 2 points with no podiums
Fittipaldi scored 16 with 3 podiums

...I guess he wasn't lying in terms of points only.

EDIT: Surely depends on the amount of races and the points system though

Ah right, he basically used the 'stats' to paint a false picture then. I'd bet the others had a lot of mechanical retirements too, i can certainly remember Barrichello's car going when he was on for a brilliant podium at Donington 1993. Also if you applied the current points system to Senna's '84 season he'd definitely have way more than 19 points, probably getting on for 30.

Shame really, Piquet almost made me feel sorry for him there.

[bud]

Piquets lucky he had the current point system no way did he have the best debut season for a Brazilian.

[Amanda]

In 2008 I scored 19 points, finished once on the podium in second place, having the best debut year of a Brazilian driver in F1.

Surely not...

Senna only scored 13 points on his debut but he had 3 podiums, he unfortunately had a lot of retirements
Piquet snr scored 3 points in '79 with no podiums
Massa scored 4 points with no podiums
Barrichello scored 2 points with no podiums
Fittipaldi scored 16 with 3 podiums

...I guess he wasn't lying in terms of points only.

EDIT: Surely depends on the amount of races and the points system though

Ah right, he basically used the 'stats' to paint a false picture then. I'd bet the others had a lot of mechanical retirements too, i can certainly remember Barrichello's car going when he was on for a brilliant podium at Donington 1993. Also if you applied the current points system to Senna's '84 season he'd definitely have way more than 19 points, probably getting on for 30.

Shame really, Piquet almost made me feel sorry for him there.

Pretty much. I got a shock when I read that too, considering how many great Brazilian F1 drivers there have been, so I went and checked past results. He completed more races, he had an advantageous scoring system. There's no way he was the most successful.

[cap-dude]

Piquet had a fantastic career leading up to F1. British F3 champion, and Gp2 2nd only to Hamilton. Not to mention several successful outings in other series.

The fact is, Renault treated Piquet poorly as you could treat a driver.


Grosjean on the otherhand. In my opinion Renault know Alonso is going to Ferrari next year or 2011. So Briatore needs a new wonderboy. Thats why I think they will end up treating Grosjean differently than they did Piquet

[Gilles 27]

The fact is, Renault treated Piquet poorly as you could treat a driver.

Nope, they did a better job on Kovalainen, who in a less competitive car, outscored his more experienced and race winning team-mate, scored a podium and dragged the car into decent points on a regular basis once he got settled in. Renault spent the whole season publicly criticising Heikki and with Flavio in talks with the Piquets in the background (the Piquets putting pressure on Flav to drop Heikki by mid-season), he was under enormous pressure. They rewarded him by smearing his name in the dirt and firing him. Piquet, who has never shown a shred of talent in F1, got off lightly imo

[Amanda]

The fact is, Renault treated Piquet poorly as you could treat a driver.

Nope, they did a better job on Kovalainen, who in a less competitive car, outscored his more experienced and race winning team-mate, scored a podium and dragged the car into decent points on a regular basis once he got settled in. Renault spent the whole season publicly criticising Heikki and with Flavio in talks with the Piquets in the background (the Piquets putting pressure on Flav to drop Heikki by mid-season), he was under enormous pressure. They rewarded him by smearing his name in the dirt and firing him. Piquet, who has never shown a shred of talent in F1, got off lightly imo

Makes me wonder why anyone would want to work for Flavio, but a F1 seat is F1 seat I guess.

[Hexagram]

Just looking at his testing mileage, thats utter rubbish. Piquet couldn't get the R29 to do the laps needed. He constantly struggled & moaned. Yes he did one day less testing than Alonso but Alonso could knock in the laps one after another without any problems.

I can't recall the test but all four days were sunny when Alonso & Piquet tested. On Piquet's second & final day with no mechanical problems he managed just 40 - 45 laps, shaking his head like he did on the first day over why the R29 was 3 seconds off the pace.

The following day when Alonso took over, 140 - 145 laps were completed with best lap being 2 seconds off the pace and with no doubt a f**king thesis worth of explanations about why the car was off the pace & where it needed to improve.

It was a no brainer for Renault to give Alonso more time in the car, he could help improve what was initially a disastrous out of the box pace to a respectable mid field pace. This carries over to the upgrades aswell, Alonso could explain & identify much better than Piquet could if the upgrades had worked or not. If they hadn't Piquet like he had all winter long would shrug his shoulders.

I am glad he is gone, now I'm looking forward to seeing what Grosjean can do. If Piquet Snr buys the old BMW team then good. We'll get to see Piquet Jnr free of what he claims were his reason for s**king so bad and maybe he can prove me & Renault wrong but I highly doubt it upgrades & all at Hungary he was still way slower than Alonso, a track he claims to be his favourite.

[richindarlo]

Im pretty surprised he lasted this long. I think there has clearly been a clash of personalities between the rest of Renault and Piquet. I wouldnt br surprised if he was back in F1 next year at somewhere like Force India. That said, if he couldnt make a Renault work (albeit a naff one compared to Alonso's) how will he make a car for one of the "lesser" teams work?
What with Piquet out, Massa out (albeit thriugh injury), BMW on the way, rumors that more are going too...F1 could be a very different place in 2010

[Hexagram]

The fact is, Renault treated Piquet poorly as you could treat a driver.

Nope, they did a better job on Kovalainen, who in a less competitive car, outscored his more experienced and race winning team-mate, scored a podium and dragged the car into decent points on a regular basis once he got settled in. Renault spent the whole season publicly criticising Heikki and with Flavio in talks with the Piquets in the background (the Piquets putting pressure on Flav to drop Heikki by mid-season), he was under enormous pressure. They rewarded him by smearing his name in the dirt and firing him. Piquet, who has never shown a shred of talent in F1, got off lightly imo

Thats because Heikki is s**t. No as bad as Piquet but still awful all round. Hamilton embarrasses him all the time and McLaren seem set to drop him, I hope they bloody well do. Give Paffett or Di Resta a shot at it.

[Hanwombat]

Goodbye

Au Revoir

[7UpJordan]

I think reading that does kind of make me feel a bit sorry for Nelson, particularly as Flavio is a bar-steward. It's no wonder he crashed out so much when he had Flavio giving him ultimatums to drive like Alonso when he hasn't got he same equipment.

[onelapdown]

if you applied the current points system to Senna's '84 season he'd definitely have way more than 19 points, probably getting on for 30.

A.Senna 1984: One 2nd place, two 3rds, two 6ths and a 7th - 28 points...

Or to compare them directly after 28 races:

Piquet Jr: 28 Races, 28 Starts, 0 Wins (best: 2nd), 1 Podium, 0 Poles (best: 7th), 0 Fastest laps, 19 points

Senna: 28 Races, 27 Starts, 2 Wins, 8 Podiums, 5 Poles, 4 Fastest laps, 70 points (2009 system)

[myownalias]

Although this is hardly unexpected news; it's a shame that he was dropped mid-season, it remains to be seen whether Romain Grosjean will have a better time in the Renault. I doubt many young drivers will do any better when you don't have the support of the team manager and personnel. Briatore is so far up Alonso's arse that I am amazed that he even knows Piquet exists. I hope Grosjean flops big time just to spite Briatore.