As Andrew pointed out in the comments to F1 Fanatic's race report, Melbourne 2008 was almost a re-run of the Canadian GP of 2007. Perhaps this was a consequence of both tracks being "green" but I think it is safe to say that, like Canada last year, Australia 2008 will prove to be an anomaly. Certainly, most of the drivers must be hoping so!
Nelson Piquet would be one, without doubt. His performance throughout the weekend was pretty dismal and may well have earned him one of the famous Briatore "encouragement interviews". In his defense, I would suggest that he may not have been entirely to blame. As over-hyped as he may have been, his ability cannot be as poor as the difference between his times and Alonso's makes it seem. We should remember that he is definitely a lower priority in the team than Alonso, regardless of whether there is an official number one or not.
There is a strong possibility that Alonso demanded certain guarantees from Renault before signing his contract, guarantees that McLaren would not give him but he regarded as his by right. I have no doubt that he will have asked for and received secrecy of the settings applied to his car, for instance. And that would leave Nelson having to learn the game from scratch.
Fair enough, we might think, it is only fair that a rookie should begin at the beginning. But we should also be a bit more understanding when that same rookie tends to flounder a bit in his first few races. It is hardly surprising that, after damaging his car very early on in practice and getting very little track time as a result, Nelson should struggle with an evil-handling car in the race.
So let us give the rookie a bit more leeway and delay our criticisms until he has had a few more races. His position is difficult and it remains to be seen whether he can learn quickly enough to prove his talent.
In that struggle, he has a couple of factors going for him, however, the first being the fact that he is effectively paying for Renault to employ Alonso. The rumored information that Nelson has his seat thanks to the insistence of a major Renault sponsor, Carlos Slim, should ensure his tenure at least for the season.
And then there is the factor that was absent from the Australian GP: Nelson's father was once known for his ability to develop and set up a car. If the old man is prepared to get stuck in and help his son, Nelson's learning curve may be shortened somewhat. Having seen the disaster that was Nelsinho's debut, Nelson Sr must surely be spurred to action - I would not be surprised if he becomes a fixture in the Renault garage from now on.
It is not much to set against the mountain now facing young Nelson, however. If he manages to emerge from the season with at least a modicum of honor, it will be an achievement indeed. And I, for one, will not kick him while he's down.