Piquet yet to secure 2009 Renault drive

Nelson Piquet has been told that his strong run to fourth place in the Japanese Grand Prix is likely to have little impact on Renault's decision to keep him

The Brazilian delivered the strongest performance of his F1 career in Fuji to bring home valuable points for Renault, but team boss Flavio Briatore says that it was not enough to win over the doubters yet.

When asked if Piquet's performance had saved his future, Briatore said: "No, no. We've said we'll do everything at the end of the year. One single race doesn't change our ideas. At the end of the season, we'll look at what we're going to do."

And although happy with Piquet's performance in Japan, Briatore said that finishing in the points was only what was expected of him.

"It's normal that he starts doing so," he said.

Renault test driver Lucas di Grassi has been tipped as the man most likely to replace Piquet if the team decide to make a change at the end of the year.

Speaking about Alonso's victory, his and the team's second consecutive win, Briatore said the performance was the result of a supreme effort by the French car manufacturer since the start of the season.

"It's not amazing," he said. "We've worked hard, changed a lot of things, we knew we had to get Renault back to the top and the only way to do it is hard work. I think we've done well.

"It was great for Fernando, for Renault, for Piquet, for everybody. It was an important win for the team, and also a team performance. Fernando won well but Piquet was fourth as well.

"He drove a great race and it was important for him to finish and score some points. Fernando was fabulous, but he also had a car that allowed him to do it."