Formula One news

Piquet expecting rain in Germany

Nelson Piquet will be one of six drivers in the field to race a Formula One car at the Nürburgring for the first time this weekend. The Brazilian, who stepped up to Formula One with Renault at the start of last year, hopes that the weather could play into his and the French team's hands this weekend.

Benefiting from a safety car and providential pit strategy in the 2008 German Grand Prix, Piquet was eventually passed for the lead by the McLaren of Lewis Hamilton but fought off Felipe Massa's Ferrari to claim second place and Renault's first podium of the season. This season, however, the R29 is still struggling.

10th in Bahrain is Piquet's best 2009 race result thus far

"The end result was disappointing although I think I managed to get the most from the race as our one-stop strategy worked well," 23-year-old Nelsinho said of his most recent race at Silverstone. "Overall, it was a pretty frustrating weekend for the team. Driving at the Nürburgring won't be a new experience for me as I raced there a couple of times in GP2 and I've always gone well and enjoyed it. I'm definitely looking forward to driving there in my Formula One car."

With a number of upgrades being taken to Germany, how does Piquet rate his chances? "After Silverstone I said that it was down to me to improve in qualifying and so I'd love to make it into the top ten, which would give me a realistic chance of scoring my first points of the year," he replied. "You also need to keep an eye on the weather at the Nürburgring as it's near the mountains and conditions change very quickly, a bit like in Spa - we can probably expect at least a couple of showers over the weekend."

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