Renault: according to the world press, Piquet is close to saying goodbye

According to rumors from the Brazilian press, Nelson Piquet ran his last race with Renault last weekend, at the Nurburgring. The SporTV channel stated that the Brazilian driver will be replaced from the Hungarian Grand Prix until the end of the season by Renault's test driver, Romain Grosjean.

According to Brazilian sources, Lucas di Grassi will take over as the team's test driver.

However, the news has not been confirmed by the French company. Last Friday, when asked if Piquet will still have his place in Hungary, the team's managing director, Flavio Briatore, responded with "we don't know anything yet".

German publication Auto Motor und Sport believes the decision was left in the hands of the team's engineers, meaning the Brazilian might still have some hope of showing up at the Hungaroring in a car with the same upgrades made to Fernando Alonso's car in Germany.

The French sports newspaper L'Equipe, however, states that Renault is free to fire Piquet if it wants.

Pointing out that the Brazilian has not yet scored any points in the 2009 World Cup, the publication assures that the Brazilian's contract includes a clause that requires him to have scored at least 40% of the points of his teammate Alonso by half season.

Andre' Cotta