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[Gaz]

Most other team bosses would have given Piquet another season but Flav isn't your average boss!

Which is why Renault isn't a good destination for a young driver as most young F1 drivers need nurturing to thrive, I don't like Flavio Briatore, I think he is an arrogant arse; anyone would think he works for Ferrari!!! I doubt whether Grosjean will do any better under Briatore while he has his pet Alonso!

Schui was pretty much a rookie when he started at Benatton though.

I think it depends on the type of rookie.

Piquet would do well to go to say Force India or Torro Rosso no pressure settle in and learn the ropes then move on to another team.

But Lewis you could throw him at Renault and Alonso and he'd try his hardest to match his team mate.

For example, if you put swopped Vettle and Piquet i doubt Vettle would be in a much better situation but perhaps Piquet might be with Mark at Red Bull now.

[EwanM]

I think it is a case of hit or miss at Renault. Schumacher and Alonso were both young drivers who gained alot from the way Benetton/Renault works. Others didn't, such as Piquet or Wurz.

There could be a number of reasons for this. The talent of their teammate, clash of personalities to name a few. But you have to look at the facts. Love them or hate them, the system at Benetton nurtured two drivers, who are up there as quite possibily the best of their generation.

[Juliet P]

For example, if you put swopped Vettle and Piquet i doubt Vettle would be in a much better situation but perhaps Piquet might be with Mark at Red Bull now.

Hmm... nah.

[scotty]

For example, if you put swopped Vettle and Piquet i doubt Vettle would be in a much better situation but perhaps Piquet might be with Mark at Red Bull now.

I think Piquet is just making excuses so i disagree, and look at Trulli in '04, Flabio didn't like him either so he got sacked, yet he actually scored more points than Alonso when they were team mates that year!

[myownalias]

Love them or hate them, the system at Benetton nurtured two drivers, who are up there as quite possibily the best of their generation.

I believe that regardless of where Schumacher or Alonso ended up they would have done well given a half decent car. Drivers like Hamilton, Schumacher and Alonso have the determination to make things happen. Many young drivers don't have that out of the box; it's a daunting task to jump up to F1 and have no support network. It's a bit like a school leaver going into employment for the first time. They need to be guided through their first week or two before they pick it up. Piquet did have a couple of years to prove himself and he didn't but at the same time it would have been nice to at least give him to the end of the year to turn it around. But constant criticism from Briatore didn't help his confident and self esteem, someone telling you that you're useless and releasing comments like "I can drive better that Piquet" doesn't do anything but bring the driver down, no-one works as hard when they don't feel appreciated!

[texasmr2]

[EwanM]

Love them or hate them, the system at Benetton nurtured two drivers, who are up there as quite possibily the best of their generation.

I believe that regardless of where Schumacher or Alonso ended up they would have done well given a half decent car. Drivers like Hamilton, Schumacher and Alonso have the determination to make things happen. Many young drivers don't have that out of the box; it's a daunting task to jump up to F1 and have no support network. It's a bit like a school leaver going into employment for the first time. They need to be guided through their first week or two before they pick it up. Piquet did have a couple of years to prove himself and he didn't but at the same time it would have been nice to at least give him to the end of the year to turn it around. But constant criticism from Briatore didn't help his confident and self esteem, someone telling you that you're useless and releasing comments like "I can drive better that Piquet" doesn't do anything but bring the driver down, no-one works as hard when they don't feel appreciated!

I think if Piquet had been with any other team on the grid, he would have suffered the same fate - certainly with a performance like that.

Piquet had a year as a Renault test driver, he attended races, tested the 07 car throughout the season. He had ample time to get to know the team and how it worked. He's also had Flav as his manager even before he was in F1... if he didn't like him that much then why did he continue to renew his management deal?

I think this was a toys out of the pram moment for Nelson.

You either sink or swim in Formula One, and although he might not be in the same league as your Alonso's, Schumacher's and Hamilton's he still had the potential to do well... he just couldn't hack it. Especially without his dad's cash

[Gaz]

For example, if you put swopped Vettle and Piquet i doubt Vettle would be in a much better situation but perhaps Piquet might be with Mark at Red Bull now.

Hmm... nah.

Hmm yes.

Look at vettle at the start of 08 he didn't finish at all for the 1st four races of 08 and didn't score points till race 6

Granted those DNF's weren't always his fault but some where and if you had a superstar team mate who was scoring points and a manger/team principle that was calling you s*** and casting doubt on your ability it could knock your confidence.

Don't get me wrong here i'm not knocking vettle at all, and i'm not saying Piquet is better than he appears i'm taking a shot at Flav being nasty peice of work.

[Gilles 27]

You could say the same thing about Kovalainen. His confidence has been shot to pieces since his arrival in F1 at both Renault and McLaren and I'm sure that's why he's not as positive in races as he should be. Thing is with Vettel and Kovalainen that separates them from Piquet is that they have both shown some genuine pace and Piquet never did. I don't mind a guy dnf ing all the time if he's fast because reliability will come with experience but Piquet is just plain slow, that's the worst thing.

[Gaz]

You could say the same thing about Kovalainen. His confidence has been shot to pieces since his arrival in F1 at both Renault and McLaren and I'm sure that's why he's not as positive in races as he should be. Thing is with Vettel and Kovalainen that separates them from Piquet is that they have both shown some genuine pace and Piquet never did. I don't mind a guy dnf ing all the time if he's fast because reliability will come with experience but Piquet is just plain slow, that's the worst thing.

Renault Yes, But Mclaren not sure, I don't the Mclaren is the type of team to shoot its drivers down especialy considering how positive Martin was about Hekki in 08

[f1ea]

You could say the same thing about Kovalainen. His confidence has been shot to pieces since his arrival in F1 at both Renault and McLaren and I'm sure that's why he's not as positive in races as he should be. Thing is with Vettel and Kovalainen that separates them from Piquet is that they have both shown some genuine pace and Piquet never did. I don't mind a guy dnf ing all the time if he's fast because reliability will come with experience but Piquet is just plain slow, that's the worst thing.

Aside from that fluke in Germany last yr, Piquet in 2 seasons wasn't even able to do one single 'fantastic lap', not in Q and not in a race... let alone a 'great race'.

[McLaren Fan]

You could say the same thing about Kovalainen. His confidence has been shot to pieces since his arrival in F1 at both Renault and McLaren and I'm sure that's why he's not as positive in races as he should be. Thing is with Vettel and Kovalainen that separates them from Piquet is that they have both shown some genuine pace and Piquet never did. I don't mind a guy dnf ing all the time if he's fast because reliability will come with experience but Piquet is just plain slow, that's the worst thing.

Renault Yes, But Mclaren not sure, I don't the Mclaren is the type of team to shoot its drivers down especialy considering how positive Martin was about Hekki in 08

I completely agree about McLaren. In fact, one of the things which occasionally annoys me about McLaren (though I can understand why the team do it) is that they take a lot of the blame on themselves, shielding their drivers.

[Denthúl]

Melbourne, for example.

[myownalias]

I think if Piquet had been with any other team on the grid, he would have suffered the same fate - certainly with a performance like that.

I respectfully disagree; I believe if Piquet joined a team that wasn't a former world championship winning team where expectation isn't so high Piquet may have thrived more and then moved onto a frontrunning team a few years later his confidence would have been higher being nurtured by a lower ranked team. A team like Toro Rosso (obviously before Gerhard Berger's departure) would have suited him. Would Vettel be the power his is now if he was thrown in at the deep end at Renault, McLaren or Ferrari?

[Hexagram]

Would Vettel be the power his is now if he was thrown in at the deep end at Renault, McLaren or Ferrari?

He was thrown right in at the deep at BMW my friend and displayed his class straight away.