THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
SAO PAULO, Brazil — Renault driver Nelson Piquet Jr. has set high goals for his debut season in Formula One.
"I’m here to try to win," the 22-year-old Brazilian said. "I think I’m capable of becoming the world champion."
Piquet Jr. — son of three-time F1 champion Nelson Piquet — was Renault’s test driver this year and will drive alongside two-time world champion Fernando Alonso, who moved back to the French team after a controversial season with McLaren.
"I’ll try to be faster than him, of course, but I don’t even know him yet," Piquet Jr. said. "We are working for the team and don’t want any fights. Our relationship is probably going to grow as the season progresses."
Alonso had tense duels with rookie Lewis Hamilton at McLaren this season, both on and off the tracks.
Hamilton beat the Spaniard in the championship standings, and they were involved in a public rift after Alonso complained he didn’t get the respect he deserved as a two-time world champion. The infighting led to Alonso’s move back to Renault, where he won his titles in 2005-06.
"I don’t think he will want to repeat the same mistake again," Piquet Jr. said.
The older Piquet also said he was confident his son would succeed in F1.
"He has won in every stage of his career so far," he said. "There’s no reason to think we won’t win now."
Piquet Jr. also met with Brazilian president Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva on Wednesday and gave him an autographed miniature of the car he is expected to drive next season.