Piquet Jr starts from scratch

Nelson Piquet Jr, ?cleared? in the crashgate affair for having collaborated in the FIA ​​investigation, returned to the consequences of these events in the columns of the Times. “ A lot of people think I should have been punished by the FIA, but in reality no one has been punished as much as I have been. », Declares the Brazilian. “ I am at the beginning of my career, unlike those who were sanctioned. I will now have to overcome many obstacles. I more or less have to start my career from scratch in terms of Formula 1 or any category in which I could race. »

The Brazilian, ousted from Renault this summer, admits that he never thought about the future when he intentionally crashed during the 2008 Singapore Grand Prix. Everything happened so quickly, I must admit that I never weighed the consequences », Continues the son of the three-time world champion. “ I was in a difficult position at that hour and the renegotiation of my contract was on the line. I was taken by surprise by the request made by the two most important people on my team. After all, one of them was my manager. »

The former Renault F1 Team driver also discusses the circumstances of his ouster from the Franco-British team. The Brazilian says he revealed the ?crashgate? so that such actions do not happen again. “ Some people suggested that I had blackmailed Renault to continue my career. But the situation had been complicated for a long time. At each race, I was threatened not to renew my contract? I just made sure no other driver went through what I went through. »