EXCLUSIVE: Q+A Nelson Piquet jr.
Between his busy test schedule for the ING Renault F1 Team, Nelson Piquet jr. made time for an exclusive interview with F1Technical. Nelsinho talks about his role as test- and reserve driver of the World Championship winning team, the new R27, his team mates and his personal life.
"I am very excited to be joining the Renault F1 Team as test driver, and to have the opportunity to learn in such a professional environment. For a young driver, this is the best possible education, to grow up in a team where you know everybody is performing to the very top level. For me, this is a great chance to learn about Formula One, and to do it in the best conditions."
You already tested the new R27, how was that going? What is the big difference between driving the R26 and the R27?"The car is really a step forward from the R26. It’s quicker, it feels better to drive and it has a brand new gearbox too. The main priority for the team at the moment, is to fully understand the Bridgestone tyres and how to get the most from them. We have some upgrades coming before the first race as well, so it will be quite a different car when it gets to Australia!"
You are already very fast in the F1 challenger what made your father warn Fisichella. Do you believe that you have a chance in driving your first Grand Prix this season?"I don't want to get ahead of myself. When you arrive in Formula One, everything you say is picked up, and it is easy to arrive and create the wrong impression. Obviously, it is my ambition to get into to Formula One – I am a racing driver, so that is perfectly normal. When that opportunity might come, and where, I don't know at the moment, but I am excited to be starting out at Renault – the world champion team. But I have a job to do, and a lot of things to learn. We have seen in recent years that Renault doesn't just take a gamble on drivers, they make them work very hard and learn the job. That is my priority to 2007: to show I can make a good contribution to the team and its success. Then we will see what happens."
Renault has become World Champion two years in a row. Do you expect that the team can also become champion this year, without Alonso?"Renault has put together a strong team and everyone in the team will do everything possible to help the team to more championships in 2007."
Do you consider Kovalainen a worthy replacer for Alonso?"I am sure he is going to have a good future and the team is very confident for him, but the only thing at the moment is that experience counts a lot in F1. Knowing the circuits and the cars and having that racing experience. So of course, Alonso has a lot more experience, but Heikki will be very good, he just needs that experience."
How is your relationship with Fisico and Heikki? Do you think you can learn a lot of them?"The relationships are growing as we work together more. I know Heiki a bit from GP2 and Giancarlo is very experienced, so I am sure I am going to learn a lot testing with them."
Lewis Hamilton, your former GP2 rival, will make his Grand Prix debut in Australia. Do you expect him to be in the front of the pack?"I’m sure Lewis will do well. We had a great fight in GP2 last year. Of course I would have wanted to win GP2, it would have meant a lot to me. The team did such a good job to make us much stronger this year and although we had a few problems in the middle of the season we were very strong the last few weekends. But Lewis did a really fantastic job and deserved his win. I am just glad that we had such a good fight the whole season long, and it went right to the last weekend in Italy."
What is the big difference between driving a GP2 car and a F1 car?"When you get the GP2 car good it’s quite close to F1, but there is nothing like the acceleration and braking of an F1 car."
Your father has won 3 championship titles. Do you consider him as your big example?"My father was my only idol in racing while I was growing up. I think when you refer to a person that you like a lot you not only see their results and their personality but how they battled to get into F1. More than 50% of the drivers in F1 had good sponsors. The difference from me and my father is that I have strong sponsors. It’s not as challenging as my father. He lost his father before he got to F1 and he was never supportive of my father’s career. He had to change his name to race and three years before he was in F1 he was still in Brazil and hardly speaking any English. He was a part-time mechanic then used the money he had to race. Then he got a sponsor and went to the UK like Emerson Fittipaldi. He won the F3 series and got some more sponsors. Bernie Ecclestone spoke to him and it all happened so quickly. He was in the right place at the right time."
What do you think about the whole debate of customer cars?"I just want to focus on racing, this is a discussion for the team bosses. I think there is a very exciting new generation of drivers coming up, and all we want is for our racing to be competitive."
After all the car launches and the first big test (at Valencia), who do you consider the biggest rival for Renault in 2007?"I think it’s the usual ones that you would expect; Ferrari, McLaren, maybe also Honda"
If you had to say who will win the championship this season at this point. Who would it be?"Of course I hope it will be Renault!"
What is in your garage at home?"I used to drive a BMW, but I am sure I will be getting a new Renault quite soon!"
Tell us something we don't know about you?"I bite my nails."
What is your most prized possession?"My clothes!"
Which person do you admire the most?"My father is the only hero I’ve ever really had."
What is your favorite food?"I eat a lot of pasta."
What would you be if you weren't a race driver?"I would still want to be in motorsport, maybe a Team Principal or a Marketing Director."
Special thanks to Nelson Piquet jr. and Rebecca Banks
