Formula One news

Piquet: We're not far behind

Renault's test driver Nelson Piquet r. believes his team is not far behind Ferrari and McLaren. The 21-year-old Brazilian travelled to Malaysia first week to join the team at the official test session.

"For sure as the reigning world champions, we haven't begun the season as it would have wished," said Piquet in Malaysia. "Renault would have liked to battle for victory right from the outset, but with the new Bridgestone tyres nobody really knew what to expect. It's a huge change. I don't think we're too far behind the leaders, but it's a question of a host of small details that we have to improve."

"The team's working night and day to get there. There are new developments in the pipe line, and last week's test session showed just how quickly Renault can react."

During the test session in Malaysia Piquet said the team made a lot of progress. "The test days were very positive and useful. Every mile we cover in testing allows us to learn something new, to familiarise ourselves with the tracks and then to get to know them better. I think that in the four days the team made noticeable progress as shown by the time set by Heikki on the final day. We're still learning about the behaviour of the tyres and how best to adapt them to the car and we've made a step forward in this area."

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