F1’s rookie championship leader Lewis Hamilton is doing nothing that any good graduate from the GP2 series could not also achieve.
That is the belief of Renault test driver Nelson Piquet Jr, who was McLaren driver Hamilton’s closest rival for the GP2 crown last year.
Also 22, Piquet Jr thinks his Renault colleague Heikki Kovalainen would also be shining at the wheel of Hamilton’s race-winning MP4-22 — and vice versa.
“What Hamilton is doing is good for the drivers who are coming up from GP2,” Brazilian Piquet is quoted as admitting by the newspaper Globo Esporte.
He added: “But if Lewis was in the place of Kovalainen he would be doing the same job (as the Finn) — an error here, another one there.
“He would be trying his best with a car that is not the quickest and pushing it over the limit to get better results.
“It is much, much simpler to drive a single-seater that is the fastest in the field and capable of being always first or second.
“(Nico) Rosberg is another good driver who hasn’t yet had a good enough car.”
Piquet insists that there is no “secret” to Hamilton’s success, which has so far featured two rookie wins from pole this month.
“He is fast and the car is a lot faster than any other car,” Nelsinho explained. “It also does not break down.
“If this continues to be the case, of course he can finish every race in the podium. There is no secret to it.”
