Piquet hindered by qualifying issues

Nelson Piquet says he needs to solve his problems with qualifying in order to fight for good results after a difficult start to the season

The Renault driver has qualified as high as 14th in the first four races, having also missed the cut in Q3 twice.

Team-mate Fernando Alonso, meanwhile, has started from the top ten in all races.

"I think I need to get qualifying sorted," Piquet told reporters in Barcelona on Thursday. "All the lack of testing at the beginning of the year and not running with low fuel and new tyres...

"My strong point always in my career was qualifying. Of course it doesn't mean much in lower categories, but I have been the driver with the most pole positions all the years. This year I'm struggling a little bit more.

"Last year it was okay because it was my first year. But this year I should have been much better in qualifying. But the lack of testing, the new tyres, a new car, new regulations, that kind of made it more difficult for me.

"So I'm hoping to get to a circuit with which I'm a little bit more familiar and maybe that helps me get a little bit more."

Piquet, who is yet to score a point this year, admitted the team is doing everything possible to try to rectify the situation.

"They are trying to help me as much as they can," he added.

"Sometimes they let me do whatever I want, but obviously they have an experienced driver, so for them it's a bit difficult to know what to do because they have to follow two different programmes sometimes."

The Brazilian conceded the in-season testing ban has not helped him.

"I think that's also a part," Piquet said. "Not getting pre-season (testing), not running low fuel, and then suddenly, when you put everything together, you can't get the maximum out of it. Or you push too much and you end up overdriving the car."