It has been a difficult beginning to Nelson Piquet's career as a Formula One racing driver. His team-mate has out-qualified him at every race so far, and amassed nine points, compared to none for Piquet. Now to be fair, he is up against two-time world champion Fernando Alonso, and the Renault team are going through a difficult period, struggling to find speed in their car.

Even taking into account the obstacles Piquet faces, it's still difficult to argue that he's doing a good job. Having failed to finish four out of six races this season, he hasn't been making any notable progress in his attempts to close the gap to Alonso. And Piquet's boss, Flavio Briatore, is not a man known for his patience. It's therefore somewhat surprising that Piquet has generally been supported in public, but this could be explained by rumours suggesting he was awarded the drive due to commercial reasons.

Public support isn't something you can rely on from Briatore, even as an inexperienced rookie. Just ask Heikki Kovalainen about the comments made to the media following his debut Grand Prix. Whilst Briatore's initial stance may have been somewhat out of character, don't expect unlimited patience to be shown, as indications begin to emerge that Piquet may not survive for much longer.

Personnel from Renault were very clear that Piquet needs to raise his game, during a recent team podcast. Then there are the rumours currently doing the rounds that title sponsor ING is less than happy with the team's current performances, and is demanding swift improvements. On top of this, Motorsport Aktuell is reporting that Alonso's testing time, following the Canadian Grand Prix, has been cancelled in order to give Piquet three days worth of running in the car. Rumours state that he's been given the opportunity to turn his performance around. Should he fail to do so within three races, Renault will look elsewhere.

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