On 3 August 2009 Piquet confirmed that he had been dropped by Renault. He hit out hard at his former manager and team boss Briatore. He called him his 'executioner' and questioned Briatore's Formula One knowledge. Piquet also said the Renault boss favored teammate Fernando Alonso. Renault's test and reserve driver Romain Grosjean replaced Piquet for the rest of the season.