 Nelson Piquet Jr says Renault regularly threatened to withdraw his contract
Former Renault driver Nelson Piquet Jr says no-one suffered more from the Formula 1 race-fixing scandal than him. Renault were given a two-year suspended ban after ordering Piquet Jr to crash so that team-mate Fernando Alonso could win the 2008 Singapore Grand Prix. Team boss Flavio Briatore and director of engineering Pat Symonds resigned but Piquet Jr was granted immunity "People say I should have been punished by the FIA but no one has been punished more than I have," said the Brazilian. Speaking in an interview on Brazilian TV, Piquet Jr claims his former team had threatened to withdraw his contract before the crash. "Some people have suggested that I was blackmailing Renault to continue my career but the situation was more complicated for a long time before," he said.  | It all happened so quickly and I must confess that I could never possibly have weighed up the consequences |
"At each race it was always the same story of threatening to withdraw my contract or the renewal for the next season. "I made the allegation so that no other driver would go through what I went through and, more importantly, so that the whole episode would be clarified the way it has been." In August, Piquet Jr was told by Renault he would no longer be driving for them. The team later made a complaint against Piquet Jr and his father, before withdrawing the claim in September. Renault had accused the pair of false allegations and blackmail but eventually informed FIA president Max Mosley that the charge of conspiracy levelled at them would not be contested. Piquet's latest comments are unlikely to endear him to the F1 community and a series of team bosses were quick to distance themselves from him at the Japanese Grand Prix. "On his performance, to be honest, disregarding the Singapore issue, I probably would not give him a drive and I would probably be further influenced in that decision by what took place," said Toyota team principal John Howett. Red Bull boss Christian Horner said: "I don't think we would have any interest." And interim Renault team principal Bob Bell added: "I am not sure I will be giving him a seat and that is really all I can say." Manor GP, newcomers to F1 in 2010, had expressed an interest in Piquet, only for chief sponsor Virgin to all but rule that out. | ANDREW BENSON BLOG |
The 24-year-old Piquet admitted he did not consider the impact the incident would have on his career, with the Brazilian coming in for a great deal of criticism from several figures in F1. "It all happened so quickly and I must confess that I could never possibly have weighed up the consequences," he continued. "The crash plan was only made hours before the race. I did not have time to think straight. I didn't have a great qualifying and this was also a contributory factor to me accepting the strategy late in the day. "I was in a difficult position at the time and the renegotiation of my contract was in play if I didn't accept the strategy," he added. "Some people have suggested I should have been punished by the FIA but, in reality, no one has been punished more than I have. "I am at the beginning of my career, unlike the others who have been punished in this case. I am going to have to overcome many obstacles. I more or less have to start my career from scratch in Formula 1."  Briatore has lost his job over the Singapore race-fix charge |
Despite his role in the events in Singapore, Piquet Jr insisted he has no regrets about blowing the whistle on his former team. "Today I am just trying to carry on with my work. Motor racing is my passion and I've got to work hard to prove my worth on the track," he said. "I know that I committed an error but I would have committed another if I hadn't gone public with everything that happened to me." BBC F1 analyst Martin Brundle was heavily critical of Piquet Jr's decision to participate in the conspiracy. "I am massively unimpressed by Piquet Jnr," Brundle told BBC Radio 5 Live after the World Motor Sport Council handed Renault a two-year suspended ban from Formula 1 . "So are many others inside the paddock. He could have said no. He didn't need to do it. He's a man and can be responsible for his own actions. "He didn't deliver at Renault as he wasn't fast enough and that's why he was released. "The people who asked him to crash a car have been heavily punished with their reputations and creditably damaged and they are out of the sport. Piquet Jr gets off scot-free and I don't think that's right."
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