Piquet hopes to keep the momentum
The ING Renault F1 Team prepares for the ninth round of the 2008 Formula 1 World Championship: the British Grand Prix, which marks the mid-point of the season. Nelson Piquet Jr. collected his first point during the French GP and hopes to carry this momentum into the next part of the season.
"It felt great to score my first points as I have been waiting for this moment since the beginning of the year. It took a bit longer than I would have liked, but the early races were not easy for me or the team. In France everything just came together for us – we ran without any problems and improved the car throughout the weekend, and so I was well prepared for the race and felt comfortable with the car."
Has the result given you more confidence for the second half of the season?"I hope I can carry this momentum into the next part of the season, starting with the next race at Silverstone, but this result hasn’t changed anything inside me – I knew what I was capable of and that things would come right eventually. I think I will have a stronger second half of the year as I have more experience to draw on and I have learnt an enormous amount from the first eight races. Every second you spend in the car, you learn a bit more, and you become a bit more confident: it’s just a natural learning process and it takes time."
What are you hoping for from Silverstone? Isn’t it one of your favourite circuits?"Yes, I like the track and we tested there last week so we have the car quite well sorted already. Obviously the aim is to score more points, and to be matching my teammate, but, as we saw in France, the midfield pack is very competitive and a lot of the cars are fighting on the same level: just a few tenths can be the difference between qualifying in 8th or 16th. And qualifying will be especially important at Silverstone because overtaking is not easy due to the high-speed nature of the track."
Silverstone is the second home race for the team, and you also live in the UK. Does that make it more special?"I guess it will feel a bit like a home race for me, and it’s also nice for the members of the team who are based at the factory in Enstone to come and support the team. But all the races are just as important as each other, and I will approach the race in my normal way by pushing to the maximum all weekend and aiming for another points finish."
