The Fast Lane

 

 

When Fernando Alonso signed with Renault for this coming Formula One season, the team decided to drop Kovalainen and sign Brazilian Nelson Piquet Jr.  If you have been a fan of the sport for decades I am sure that you would immediately recognize the name.  After all, Nelson Piquet Sr. was a three-time world champion.  That means Nelsinho has a very daunting prospect, and that is to match up with his father in terms of success in the sport.

Nelson Jr. though has shown a lot of talent.  His credentials include two Formula Three championships, one in South America and the other one in the United Kingdom.  Also, Nelsinho finished second to Lewis Hamilton in GP2 series when the latter was dominating the sport.  His transition to Formula One though is not as abrupt as Hamilton as he spent last year as a test driver and has already covered more than 8,000 kilometers in a Formula One car.

Pat Symonds, Renault's executive director of engineering said that they expect Nelsinho to commit rookie mistakes but they are doing the best they can in providing the Brazilian with a car that will suit him.  "Nelson has a challenge in front of him," said Symonds.  "Just like with Heikki last year, we need to give him time to develop, to make the inevitable rookie mistakes - and we must help him learn from those mistakes. It is important to give him a car he can trust, and I hope this is where it turns out differently to 2007. We have to be sure that the R28 is not just a race-winning car, but one that inspires confidence from the drivers."

Now, can Nelsinho achieve the same success as his father?  I don't know just yet but we will see soon enough.  But if Renault can come up with a good car, I don't think Nelsinho will be given a chance to win the championship as Alonso is the number one driver and the Spaniard wants preferential treatment of course.