Zoom A strong race from Piquet in Bahrain

Nelson Piquet needs support rather than intense pressure if he is going to permanently turn around a run of poor form.

That is the insistence of the 23-year-old Brazilian's namesake and famous father, 56-year-old triple world champion Nelson Piquet Snr.

Observers in Bahrain were questioning the level of support being provided for the struggling Brazilian by Flavio Briatore.

Later, after Piquet Jr finished tenth at Sakhir, the Renault boss praised his ‘excellent race’ in which he drove ‘aggressively and consistently’.

Piquet Snr told Auto Motor und Sport: "I said to Flavio that he will only get the maximum from Nelson if he gives him cover.

"If the engineers are roaring on the radio that he is driving badly because he lost his first quail-lap in traffic, then how can a driver develop confidence?" said Piquet, who so far in 2009 has attended every race with his son.

He suggests that his son's problems can also be helped in other areas by the Anglo-French team.

"Too often he has to drive in practice with a lot of fuel in the tank. The team knows that his problems are with lower fuel so they should let him drive more often in qualifying trim," Piquet Snr said.

However, he believes that Bahrain will have boosted Piquet's confidence.

"In Barcelona he will do even better than Bahrain. Nelsinho knows now that he can do it," said his father.

Source: GMM
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