Why F1 loser Piquet was always destined to finish behind Alonso

Since joining Renault for the 2008 season, Nelson Piquet Jnr has struggled in the shadows of Formula One's closest relationship. "If you listen to the pit-wall radio, it's like a joke. He hasn't got a clue what is happening in the race". This was Nelson Piquet Jnr's rather frank assessment of Renault figurehead Flavio Briatore after being told in the F1 summer break that he was to lose his race seat with the French team. Speculation regarding Piquet's future has been rife throughout the 2009 season. To the outside fan, his performances this year have been well below par. Every avid F1 follower knows that partnering and matching Fernando Alonso, who is widely-regarded as the most complete driver on the grid, is no easy task, especially within the confines of his beloved Renault team. However, Piquet's performances, especially in qualifying, have stood out like a very sore thumb. Alonso out-qualified him in every race bar one (the rain-affected session at the Nurburgring), and their differences in grid positions, even with the closest grid in terms of lap times in the sport's history, have been astounding at times to the outsider.