Nelson Piquet Jr. has spoken for the first time about the conspiracy which led him to deliberately crash in Singapore last year.
Former Renault driver says contract threats led him to agree to Singapore crash
Former Renault driver Nelson Piquet Jr. has spoken in public for the first time about the conspiracy which led him to deliberately crash in last year's Singapore Grand Prix.
In an interview with Brazilian television, also published in
The Times, the 24-year-old re-iterated his evidence to the FIA's investigation into the affair, in which he said he agreed to follow team orders because he felt his position was under threat.
Piquet Jr. crashed on lap 14 of the night race, bringing out the safety car - a situation which benefited then team-mate Fernando Alonso, who went on to take victory.
Last month, the governing body's World Motor Sport Council handed Renault a two-year suspended ban, while former team principal Flavio Briatore was banned for life.
The team's former executive director of engineering, Pat Symonds, was banned for five years, although Piquet escaped punishment in return for his evidence.
Piquet denied claims by Briatore - initially supported by Renault - that his accusations stemmed from a blackmail attempt and said instead the plan came following a series of threats made by his former team boss and manager.
"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.
"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."
Consequences
Piquet Jr. said the plan was revealed to him in a meeting called by Briatore and Symonds shortly before the race, meaning he therefore had little time to consider the gravity of the situation.
"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 also said that, despite the FIA handing him immunity from punishment, the reality of the situation he now faces is that another F1 drive will be difficult to come by.
"Some people have suggested I should have been punished by the FIA but, in reality, no one has been punished more than I have," he said.
"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 One."
An accusation levelled at Piquet has been that he only sought to bring the matter to light when it became clear after July's Hungarian Grand Prix he had driven his last race for Renault.
However, he said his three-times world champion father had in fact told the FIA about the incident at the Brazilian Grand Prix held last November.
Piquet added: "During the first half of 2009 both myself and my father spoke to other people about the subject. But the formalisation of the allegations only came afterwards. It was a very serious charge and, for that reason, we had to be very careful and take careful steps."
The driver also 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," Piquet 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."
