Zoom A dismal start to the season for Piquet

Nelson Piquet's Renault will be upgraded to feature a 'double diffuser' in time for the Bahrain Grand Prix.

Mechanics of the French-owned team worked frantically on Fernando Alonso's R29 in Shanghai, after a single set of new components was sped from the UK factory to China aboard Flavio Briatore's own jet.

It was suggested in the Shanghai paddock that, to accommodate the large diffuser, the seats of Briatore's Lear jet had to be removed.

So rushed was the development, meanwhile, that when it was fitted to Alonso's car for Saturday practice, it caught fire after mere laps.

"I feel bad for Piquet, that he could not have it too," the team boss is quoted as saying in the Spanish press.

Briatore said it is certain that the Brazilian driver's Renault will be upgraded in time for the Bahrain Grand Prix this weekend.

The Spanish newspaper Diario AS, however, said the underperforming Piquet's days at Renault could be numbered. Takuma Sato, Alex Wurz, Lucas di Grassi and Romain Grosjean were named as potential successors.

E.A. © CAPSIS International
Source: GMM