Piquet confident points will come

By Alan Baldwin

LONDON (Reuters) - After five Formula One races without so much as a point or a top-10 finish, Brazilian rookie Nelson Piquet did his best to sound upbeat about his prospects.

"Some drivers take a bit more time to learn, some get it straight at the beginning," said the 22-year-old Renault driver after crossing the line 15th in last weekend's Turkish Grand Prix.

"I think it depends on the situation and how comfortable the driver is with the car and the team.

"Hopefully race to race I am going to improve myself and get more comfortable with everything and we'll get there...the team are very supportive, they are trying to help me as much as I need so I have nothing to complain about.

"Obviously I want to score points, but it will come sooner or later."

Comparisons have followed Piquet since the day he graduated to the Formula One paddock as team mate to double world champion Fernando Alonso.

The most obvious one was the Renault driver's father and namesake, a triple champion who retired in 1991 after winning 23 grands prix.

Then there was Lewis Hamilton, who beat Piquet junior to the GP2 title in 2006 and who was also 22 years old when he made a sensational debut with McLaren last year, alongside Spaniard Alonso.