Nelson Piquet Jr will trail the battle for formula one’s upper midfield when the 2008 action kicks off in Melbourne this week, according to Red Bull Racing’s racing consultant, Helmut Marko.
Marko said the French team is only likely to be able to challenge BMW Sauber, Williams and Red Bull for honours behind the Big Two teams this year because it has reacquired the services of Fernando Alonso.
“We are behind Ferrari and McLaren, in a group consisting of BMW, Williams and Renault,” the Austrian, a former grand prix driver, told Sportnet.
“Renault are keeping up only because of Alonso, as Piquet is behind this group,” he added.
Marko also expects Heikki Kovalainen to have a solid season for McLaren this year, after appearing to adjust to life without traction control better than Lewis Hamilton.
“He is driving more calmly and is pretty good with the long runs,” he said.
“Hamilton is faster, but he often loses time by making more mistakes,” Marko added.
