Piquet: Renault not quick enough for wins

Renault, who endured a poor 2007 season with just one podium finish in 17 races, have been far from the pace of the leading Ferrari and McLaren teams during winter testing.

Despite having made significant progress compared to the end of last year, Piquet believes Renault are not yet ready to fight the top two teams.

"We are not fighting the McLarens. We are trying to fight BMW and Red Bull and Williams. We are not expecting to win races," Piquet told reporters during testing at Barcelona.

"Last year we had a second place in a crazy race. Anything can happen. But in a normal situation I don't think we are going to win a race. We can win a race, but we don't have the speed to win a race at the moment."

Piquet says it's hard to predict where Renault will be in the pecking order when the season kicks off.

"It depends how good we are in Australia. Obviously not first or second, but we are going to be fighting to be the third, fourth or fifth team," he added.

"It's a big fight between us, Williams and BMW. You are not going to expect to be able to win a championship from one year to another. It never happens."

The 22-year-old, making his Grand Prix debut this year, admits he is trying to seize his time at the wheel of the Renault.

"Every time I drive the car I feel more comfortable," the Brazilian said. "Obviously if I could drive another day it would be even better. But I have to use the time I have.

"Every time I'm in the car I feel more confident, so it's getting there. Obviously if we had more time we would be more ready. But we are not ready to win races. We are never going to be prepared as much as we want. We always want more time."