The Formula 1 world has adopted a somewhat harsh attitude towards Nelson Piquet Jr, following the revelations that he crashed deliberately during the 2008 Singapore Grand Prix, in order to help his team-mate Fernando Alonso – who is fast becoming known as “Teflonso” in F1 circles for his ability to avoid getting involved in scandals that happen around him. Team principals say (in public at least) that they would not hire Nelson Piquet Jr after what happened in the recent Renault-Singapore scandal. I am not sure that is the best attitude to adopt. Yes, Piquet’s name is associated with a devastating scandal and that might take the gloss of him as a driver but, having watched Romain Grosjean’s rather poor efforts in the Renault after Piquet departed, one has to wonder if the Renault team would have done better to reappoint Nelson, rather than giving the car to a youngster who is completely at a loss to understand how to make it go fast and is rapidly losing confidence as a result.
“I’m not sure I’ll be giving him a seat,” said Renault Bob Bell when asked whether he would consider such a thing. “That’s really all I can say.”
Asked the same question Red Bull Racing’s Christian Horner said that “I don’t think we would have any interest at Red Bull Racing.”
Toyota’s John Howett said that “I think on his performance, to be honest, disregarding the issue, I probably would not give him a drive and I would probably be further influenced in that decision by what took place.”
I agree with the first part of the answer. Nelson needs to prove he has the ability to be competitive and he failed to do that in his 18 months at Renault. On the other hand he did say that he did not believe that he had had equal equipment and support. This seems to have been true to some extent. And a look back at the history of the team shows the same pattern having been repeated several times over.
But why would Howett not hire Piquet because of “the issue”? Piquet told the truth and that resulted in the demise of those deemed to be responsible. What is wrong with that? Yes, OK, he was weak in originally giving in to the demand to crash. He should have refused. The team was hardly going to fire him given that he would then have turned around and told the media the reason for his firing…
Was it because his confession was deemed to be revenge against former Renault boss Flavio Briatore? Yes, there was an element of revenge in what happened, but I am told that when Nelson Piquet Sr challenged Briatore about the way that Piquet Jr was being handled before the scandal broke, he was told that it was “not personal” and just business. And he concluded that if that was the case then Briatore should not be upset as it was all “just business”.
The danger here is that by excluding Piquet the whole of F1 could be construed to be rejecting him because he decided to do the right thing and did not protect the team, which in turn suggests that F1 teams do things that are wrong and drivers should say nothing and live by some kind of code of omerta. This is wrong-headed.
F1 team bosses should strive to do things legally and honestly and thus earn victories in the correct way. They should be outraged that F1 is viewed as a dishonest business (as several have been) and they should say so.
There is nothing wrong with rejecting Piquet because he was a bad driver, but to do so because he blew the whistle on Briatore implies dishonesty on the part of those making such decisions.
I have to say that I was not overly impressed by Piquet in any respect until the scandal. His driving did little to impress (although up against Teflonso most drivers would struggle), he seemed pleasant enough but rather dull and spoiled. Standing up and doing what he did took real guts and a very grown-up acceptance that he had made a grave mistake in his life and wanted to make up for it. And I think that this should be applauded. Formula 1 would benefit a great deal from a lot more honesty and a lot less acceptance that things are not right, but that it is too much trouble to stand up and have an opinion. I heard the other day that the F1 drivers discussed the FIA elections and some had strong views, but they decided not to make any statements for fear of reprisal… which is not a good sign.
I also think that if hunger was once a problem for Nelson Jr, he now has more to prove than ever and would be more motivated and wiser than most of the younger generation of drivers. And he is also experienced in the current cars. He was quick before F1 and showed signs of being quick during his F1 career. Being up against Alonso made life difficult but he did not do THAT badly. And, if one accepts that he did not get a fair shot, I think he warrants another chance. When Jenson Button was at Renault he went through a similar process; so did Johnny Herbert, Martin Brundle, Jos Verstappen and others.
Will Piquet get another chance? Hmm… Honesty appears to be an unwelcome guest at the F1 dining table.
The other day someone said to me that he reckoned that “if Osama bin Laden was half a second faster than Fernando Alonso, he would get an F1 drive” and I am afraid that I tend to agree…
Shame.
The second seat at Alonso’s Renault is something of a poisoned chalice. I suspect that Nelson is better than his performances so far would suggest. It would be a shame if he never got the chance to show what he can do in a more favourable environment.
One thing we have to remember, if Nelson Jr blew the wistle it is not out of remorse or honesty, it is ONLY because he was fired. And he retaliated. That’s all. Not a very nice , innocent guy. And mopre over there is testimony (2 at least) indicating that at first the idea to volontarily crashed was his. For that two reasons he should not have a seat in F1.
The idea that he came up with the idea is simply not credible in my mind. The suggestion comes from one of the guilty men and from a mysterious Mr X who seems to have decided to confess to Renault in fear of getting the same treatment as those who were accused. My feeling is that Mr X was advised by Pat Symonds and told to save himself and thus he told the same story… Cannot prove a word of it but that is what I hear.
Its true, it doesn’t seem to matter how badly drivers behave or what skullduggery they get involved in off the track, if they are quick someone in F1 will employ them. I find the way that Alonso has acted over the last couple of years as indefensable but name me a team on the grid that wouldn’t snap him up?
By that reasoning Piquet Jnr should get another chance but for 2 facts. 1) he wasn’t overly impressive for Renault 2) He has demonstrated an unusual amount of honesty and forthrightness. It is the second part which may well deny him a drive as teams seek increasingly to gain the edge by any means possible .. who wants a potential whistleblower in their midst? Sad that F1 should end up this way.
I think his only chance is to ‘buy’ his way into one of the new teams and try to rebuild his career from there, if he does well in a lacklustre car then maybe one of the bigger teams may take a chance in the future, for, as we have seen, if you can get the results all else in forgiven (or more likely ignored)
I don’t think that was Nelson did took real guts. His father talked to the FIA after the race and he probably convinced his son to write the statement to the FIA after being fired. His father always had a bad relation with Flavio Briatore after being replaced at Benetton. The sad part is by getting his revenge he probably ruined the career of his son.
Whilst I am not totally sympathetic to young Nelsons latest interviews, which come across as self pitying in the extreme [a dignified silence is often a safe bet], I do agree that punishing him was a waste of time and fail to understand the people that are saying he should have been. The nature of F1 is such that he will indeed struggle to ever be accepted in the F1 paddock and for a young driver trying to climb that ultimate ladder, that is punishment enough.
As to your point that the reasons for this lack of acceptance put F1 in a bad light, you will not hear me disagreeing as such. Whilst there is some legs in the argument that Piquet never been seen around F1 again will stop the spectre of crashgate bein raised on a regular basis and some hope by those in the F1 thrall that it can be pushed away and forgotten, I think the thing that comes out of this is the fear of anyone to speak up and against any dodgy dealing and wrong doing behind the scenes. I doubt Piquet Minimus is the first driver to be pressured by the powers that be for one reason or another and he sure as hell won’t be the last – you only have to read EJ’s biog, or the stuff written by Paul Stoddart to know that it isn’t just drivers that are pressured and manipulated into certain actions, all under the umbrella of ‘nothing personal, its just business’.
Indeed, even as I type, I can’t help but feel BCE is giving Donington enough rope to hang themselves over the British GP fiasco, its just business chaps, just business. Only time will tell on that one, but to clean up F1, the broom has to start at the top and work its way down, its very difficult to sweep uphill.
That is the glory of opinions. We all have different ones…
If he had such a bad relationship with Briatore why in the world would he have put his son’s career into Briatore’s hands? Surely, Nelson had sufficient contacts to get a drive elsewhere without Briatore. The fact is that Flavio held the keys to the Renault drive, which was the best available option. That was a pragmatic decision but involved an element of trust in Briatore, which rather undermines your argument.
All those comments seems to forget one thing: even ordred to do such a thing Nelson Jr is responsible for his own acts. You don’t obey (even in the military) a non ethical order. He put others live in danger. At the minimum he shows poor judgement and a quite distored ambition.
I agree entirely. But he has admitted all that himself.
Piquet Sr. has been pretty cynical about it (to spill the beans for the “good of the sport”) , but I strongly believe his son never stood a chance. He never had an option.
I agree for the most part with what you said, Joe. Of course Sr believed in Briatore and trusted him his son and Briatore put that to rest by treating it as just business.
Having said that, the part that really bothers me is the vendetta aspect of it all. To take so long to blow the whistle is what almost entirely takes out Jr.s credibility.
Because no one´s naive (especially Piquet Sr.), the driving goal to make the denounce was to revenge. And only then, to protect F1.
I mean, hell, who would want to protect such a dirty corporativist sport when you were just quite literally expelled from it through the backdoor?
Like I read someone saying, “Piquet´s sin was not to crash. Piquet´s sin was to be a victim and then blow the whistle. People will forgive a lot, but what they wont forgive is weakness”.
I like Piquet Jr. and I´m sorry for him, but this whole story is just so absurd it definitely sickens me.
who can forget that audio clip of Osama bin Laden bragging about the 6/10′s he brought to Saudi Arabia’s A1GP team
I am just blown away – what a fantastic article. You have said EXACTLY what I have been saying since this sorry saga came out. You seem very moral and ethical, coupled with intelligence and compassion and a great understanding of the sport.
I am not just flattering – I am so pleased to see a commentator of your authority and knowledge have this opinion. There has been the most dreadful spite against Piquet Jr – yes, he did wrong, but I believe he was bullied, AND I believe he was never given a proper chance at Renault.
Thank you Joe for this article. I hate the impression I get that you get accepted into the F1 boys club if you keep your mouth shut whilst all those are cheating and lying around you. That is just so wrong. I hope never to see Flavio in F1 again, and it is just utterly disgusting that the grotesque man who has such influence in F1, Bernie, seems to think Flavio was treated harshly. I really believe that the day Mosley and Ecclestone disappear from the sport, the better it will be. There is such a stench of corruption and immorality surrounding them. I fear though, that if Todt replaces Mosley, we will get more of the same.
It seems to me that PKJr is the sacrificial lamb at the alter of revenge all right but not his own or his fathers. The PK’s have been used by someone Flabio called “The Dictator” and helped in his disposition.
And from what I read the “facts” of this case have been known for a long time to a lot of people who chose to say nothing.
I’m reminded of that old adage “When you point a finger notice there are three pointing back at you”.
“Standing up and doing what he did took real guts and a very grown-up acceptance that he had made a grave mistake in his life and wanted to make up for it.”
I am unconvinced. To have refused to crash would have taken real guts. To have blown the whistle while still employed the team would have taken real guts. To lob a hand grenade into the team after being fired does not take real guts.
Honestly, I’ve tried to find some virtue in his actions. But the reality is that he only spoke out when he decided he had nothing to lose – he had already spoken of Briatori as his “executioner”. These were not the words and actions of someone who had bravely climbed a moral mountain. They’re the actions of someone who knew he was going down, and was determined to take as many others with him as he could.
That being so – and keeping in mind he was never quick enough – if you were a team principle, would you hire him for the good of F1 optics?
For whatever it’s worth, I agree with Joe, The naysayers might find it just as difficult as young PK apperantly did at the time! The pressure in F1 for anyone from the truckie on up is tremendous…When you are under the orders of people such as Flavio, along with, the turmoil that has surrounded F1 in recent times, any number of people might have made the same decision. His greater punishment is the lingering doubt….Yes his father’s name helped him on the way, but some rather good raw talent also helped. If you can breed race horses you should be able to breed race drivers. That’s already been proven, and time will tell. If he’s already looking at various options, then at least he has a set of gonads!!!!
Joe,
This was a conspiracy – Briatore, Symonds and Piquet Jr. conspired to cheat the other teams but in such a way that other drivers were put at risk. The three formed this conspiracy and Piquet Jr was the hit man. He pulled the trigger, he is the one who spewed components and carbon shards across the track for the others to drive through at speed.
Nor was he forthright and honest. If there were any qualities to redeem, he would have stood up and quit along with telling the “truth” as his reason for quitting. Then, one might say he had some integrity to admit his very very bad mistake. But to continue to press on until he was fired, then step forward doesn’t impress.
The other comments regarding the willingness of teams to hire someone fast regardless of their behavioral issues is certainly true. It happens in all professional sports and is very unfortunate – one only need to look at American professional football.
I believe in second chances once someone has paid their debt but Nelson Piquet Jr is not the victim here. He is a co-conspirator and even worse, the hit man.
Thanks Joe for this post – it reflects my own thoughts, but it is not a popular view with many people feeling he should be punished. Whether Piquet will ever drive a F1 car again should be based on his merit and not one rather stupid decision. Looking at Romain Grosjean and Luca Badoer performance it is clear these latest specced F1 cars are not easy to drive. When you add insufficient time to learn a circuit (like this weekend) and the numerous accidents in qualifying it questions using a new driver as opposed to an experienced driver for most teams.
Further, I don’t know who YVONNE is but, he or she seams to have a pretty good feel for F1 and life in general and I find those comments always worth reading at least twice!!!!!
Well there mgith be a code of omerta but Jnr got his end of the bargain (contract extension) but then reneged when he was fired. This is a distinct lack of integrity (if accepting the order didn’t prove that enough already….) IMO he is a coward.
But Joe, Nelson junior has said himself that he only came clean about the Singapore crash after he confessed to his father. This doesn’t demonstrate honesty and forthrightness but rather the tendency to be bullied and pushed by everyone: first by the Renault F1 team heirachy into crashing and then by his father into blowing the whistle. We can only speculate, but do you think the pressure from his father to ‘come clean’ was greater or less than the pressure from Briatore et al? I would imagine his father would have been most tenacious and would not have rested until his son had spilled the beans.
And I truly don’t buy the argue about him being a ‘young driver’ and blaming his youth for his lack of judgement. Over on Autosport he is quoted as saying “It all happened so quickly, I must confess that I could never possibly have weighed up the consequences,” He was 23 at the time of the accident, the same age as many (for example) British Army officers on operations in the Middle East, or the same age as many beat bobbies or freshly qualified doctors, all who have the nous to differentiate right from wrong, often in the blinking of an eye. By Piquet jr’s own admission he had hours to consider the ethics of deliberately crashing, yet still decided to do it.
And as for Osama bin Laden, he would never be half a second faster than Alonso as he simply can’t deal with oversteer. However, he is strong under braking and a knock-out with the sponsors…
I think a lot of the problem is the timing. If Nelson had come out with the scandal before he was fired then he would have most likely have been considered a hero. He unfortunately came out with it when he had nothing left to lose…if he hadn’t been fired would he have blown the whistle?
Another thought for the fire…if someone had been killed as a result of the crash would Nelson still have been granted immunity? And would people still think he should be given another chance?
By not punishing and allowing him back into the sport we are saying that it is OK to cheat as long as you come clean about it!
Trust is a very important and fragile thing, it takes ages to earn someones trust and very little to destroy it. Once trust has been destroyed it becomes MUCH harder if not impossible to regain…
We are defined and judged by the choices and actions that we make, they are our choices to make.
It is easy for someone to say they are sorry but harder for people to believe those words.
great comment Chris@12.36! How about we put him in the 2nd Ferrari for next year and see how his performances dramatacially improve like Fisichellas!!!??? duma55!!! #:)
Yvonne is a girls name Chuck!!! duma55!!!! #:)
at last!!! great post Rich! #:)
Spot ON Joe!!!
The boy entered F1 spoiled and cocky especially when commenting on Hamilton’s debut year successes. Then Piquet failed badly in his own first season and had to become humble when second-guessing other drivers ability. Now he comes out of a really bad situation he seemingly punched in a self destruct card and again must learn the hard way. I am inclined to believe Nelson is learning to stand on his own feet the really hard way much as Lewis Hamilton had to when caught “fibbing”. Nelson deserves a second chance and F1 needs to prove this point! I am sure most teams are lucky they have not been found out – YET – so pretending to be righteous is the completely wrong alley for anyone in F1 to be seen walking down on when talking about Piquet. Piquet deserves better.
It was me who posted the Osama Bin laden comment on a previous Piquet-Gate Blog entry. (Nelson Piquet’s career in F1. September 22, 2009 at 11:04).
Actually, I said if he were half a second faster than Hamilton!
Therefore he’d need to be six tenths faster than Alonso.
Well, as they say in America – Kudos! I could not remember where I had heard it/read it. Sorry.
This is off topic, but Joe mentions the lack of support by Renault for PK and indeed the teams reputation for treating their second string driver badly. What I don’t get is why a team would do so. Why spend all that money on running a second car and utterly ruin any hope of getting results?
@tEQUILLA sLAMMER
It is interesting that you raise the subject of Fisichella as I felt he was more impressive during his stints with Sauber and Jordan than he was at Renault.
Also, I wouldn’t for one minute suggest that Piquet is a candidate for a seat with a top team, but I feel he’d make a good punt for a smaller outfit, given his experience and his financial clout.
I suppose my point is that neither his performances at Renault or the Singapore fiasco should necessarily deter all teams from offering him a chance.
@Alec “All those comments seems to forget one thing: even ordered to do such a thing Nelson Jr is responsible for his own acts. You don’t obey (even in the military) a non ethical order. He put others live in danger. At the minimum he shows poor judgment and a quite distorted ambition.”
This is the crucial point. Apart from a lack of driving talent, he demonstrated seriously poor judgment.
@Joe “I agree entirely. But he has admitted all that himself.”
Using the “Nuremberg” defence and holding his hand up to his mistake compounded by his inability to adequately demonstrate his talent, mean that IF I was a team manager, I wouldn’t offer him a seat. I wouldn’t know if I could a.) afford the accidents or b.) trust his race judgment.
Now if his father came along and told me he would fund Lewis Hamilton in my No 1 car, I might think again. (Or indeed anyone consistently half a second faster than Teflonso…)
But that should in no way reflect on my desire to see a fair and equal F1. It’s simply a better judgment call from a commercial perspective.
But then again, as I can’t see Nelson P Snr spending his money on a name driver, I’d prefer to give my 2nd car to Anthony Davidson. (Proven qualifying ability, loyalty, diligence, less hassle and more hunger!)
Simples.
I agree with John Howett.
Regardless of the scandal, I don’t think Piquet, Jr. was good enough for F1, anyway. I can’t think of a single moment where he was at all impressive. That’s not all his fault – he needed much more time to develop in the junior formulae.
The great Joe Saward quoting me! Whoever next? Roebuck?
No apologies necessary. I was just after the kudos as you correctly spotted.
Great? Yes, in terms of physical size…
Reminds me too much of the end of that movie Quiz Show…
Because the outcome of the accident was relatively anodyne we can all pontificate and offer opinions. Another way of looking at this is to ask the question of where would the blame a.k.a. responsibility lie if someone had been injured or killed by Piquet’s actions? Squarely with the perpetrator i.e., NPJ. His defence line has always been weak – he is, after all, nearly 25 and so hardly a minor in legal terms – therefore he has to accept the full responsibility for his own actions. He drove into a wall. No-one else was in the car. He had a “few hours” by his own admission during which to consider the implications, phone daddy (as daddy wasn’t there to hold his hand as FB was his manager), talk to others etc. He would have received far more respect and credibility if he had “whistleblown” before the action. To undertake illegal activity and then claim whistleblower status goes against the concept of whistleblowing. NPJ is just someone who broke the law, got a deal, and is now trying to mitigate his own actions. There can be no other explanation. He wanted a contract, but he didn’t need the money, etc..So please, don’t feel sorry for a thief and an overly self-interested individual who, at best, produced mediocre results. I just wish the FIA could sometimes act in a decent and honourable manner – perhaps after the elections (ha ha) we will get some fairness in decisions. Was Nico offered immunity if he admitted not seeing the delta whereas Jenson just did what he considered was the safest thing given the potential for disaster if he had lifted too much? Because of the FIA we will never know. In the same way we will never know the objective truth about FB, PS and NPJ. My point in all this is to not forget who drove into the wall and where the legal responsibility lies. It is only fortunate that no-one suffered real loss…
Thanks Tiquella, but in this day and age I’m never sure…Didn’t mean to demean the female side, or anyone, Just being cautious! Incedently I am a close friend of Devina Galica, you may remember her! I for one welcome anyone of the opposite sex to this or any other game. Anyway, Yvonne, shows me a lot as well as virtually all of the others contributors to this site. I have left two other sites recently out of shear frustration,and disguest, reading some of them is lile self flogging…
There’s no point in talking about little Nelson – he’s dead wood now. He did some F1 testing prior to signing for Renault and other teams didn’t want him which should mean a thing or two. Yes, Grosjean is not ready for the job but Nelson got access to a lot of testing mileage in 2007 and 2008 and even 2009 despite his laments. Even Fisichella and Kovalainen were deprived of testing just to prepare Nelson for his F1 debut. And what did he do? Kept spinning around and it was HIS and not Renault’s, Alonso’s or Flavio’s fault. Seriously, I can only compare Jr. to Alex Yoong. Rich kids, aye?
why he shouldnt’ get another chance…
My issue with NPjnr is that out of the 3 – he was the only one that could have stopped it – he was the one in control of the car and ultimately it was him that crashed it – not PS or Flavio. Even had they said “oh, we’ve changed our minds, don’t do it”…they couldn’t stop him as they were not driving the car. Now had he done it and then dobbed them in immediately then maybe I would have more respect. But he didn’t. He kept it up his sleeve and then vindictively released the information. He deserves all the scorn he gets.
My ears are burning….
Thankyou Chuck, not sure I have any better ‘feel’ for F1 than anyone else, but it’s episodes like this one where sometimes, you have to step back and look at the bigger picture rather than the individuals involved and try and understand why or what led to it happening in the first place. I think Joe has hit the nail on the head again and is one of the reasons I keep reading here.
You guys that respond do so intelligently and good naturedly regrdless of whether opinions differ, which compared to so many places on the internet, is an absolute breath of fresh air.
Thanks Joe for a knowledgable and interesting blog and for letting us opine and thankyou all of you for doing so.
As others have said, this was not about honesty or remorse or courage, it was because he was sacked. It is revenge, and a bitter ‘I’ll show you’ attitude.
Consider, if he had not been sacked and by some miracle gone on to be a good and successful driver at Renault, would we be having this debate now ?
No, because the incident would remain hidden, until some biography in the future discloses the sordid details.
Joe
Sorry I do not agree with you that he needs a second chance. He had two seasons to prove himself and he only proved that he wasn’t quick enough. Plenty of drivers have been dumped after a few races into their F1 careers, he only kept his drive because of his nationality and family connections and because he helped his team cheat.
If his telemetery were any better then his team would have wasted no time in keeping him, after all they are in the best position to judge a driver’s performance. No doubt because of his family money he will get another drive shortly.
Sorry, Joe, I don’t agree. There was no moral stance whatever in what PJ did – if that had been the case, he would have agreed to testify on record at the end of last year, when his father talked to Charlie W. But he didn’t. He only went official when he had nothing else to lose (or at least he persuaded himself that that was the case). I don’t really think that deserves much applause.
You are right though to say that if he was outstandlingly good, he would be forgiven. But he’s not, so he won’t. John Howett’s comment sums it up perfectly – we don’t want him, and now we REALLY don’t want him.
I disagree that Piquet is shunned because he blew the whistle. He’s shunned because he intentionally spun in the first place. He didn’t speak up in the name of honesty, he did so to hurt Flav
Neither of them are welcome in F1 in my eyes
If PKJr didn’t invent the idea himself, then he would have been in far less trouble now if he had blown the whistle day 1. If he’d had it in for Flav at that time, he could have taken him down then. But he didn’t do that. The whole thing came out because Papa spoke up, so tell me again where Jr’s integrity lies? Papa decided what the best way to handle a bad situation was, Jr has nothing to commend himself for so why give him another chance – even ignoring his driving?
From the moment I heard about the mysterious Witness X, I have been of the opinion that Witness X is Fernando Alonso. Of course, this is only a personal opinion, and you can all make up your own minds.
I am not alone in my opinion that Alonso would not have accepted such a lunatic race strategy without a quick ‘briefing’ by best buddy Flavio. This is also just an opinion.
If this is just ‘business’, let’s be ruthless here…
Would I hire Alonso? He cost McLaren a cool $100M, and has just cost Renault 2 sponsors. I reckon Alonso at Ferrari could go very wrong. But probably not for Telfonso. Again.
Would I hire Piquelet? No. A thousand times, no. Oh you’re offering me *how* much? Clearly, this ain’t gonna work for Martin Whitmarsh, and Piquelet will have ‘Singapore 2008′ tatooed on his forehead til the day he dies. But there’s always Campos.
Would I hire Flavio? He may be a rat with a gold tooth, and know zero about cars except that they’re ‘shiny’. You wouldn’t trust him with your girlfriend. Or son. But it was the exact same unscrupulous techniques that snatched Schumacher from his Jordan contract in 1991. And his scatterbomb approach to hiring and firing young drivers has won 7 world championships, and quite a few dollars, along the way. But hey, we’re not allowed to hire Flavio, are we.
@Joe,
“Great? Yes, in terms of physical size…”
If this is the measure, I am far, far greater. Trust me!
Hi Joe,
What is the probability of Fernando Alonso being Mr.X ? It is not evident from the details of the meeting, but still could you lend an insider’s perspective?
And oh, as always, awesome stuff.
Regards.
Amritraj,
i do not believe that Mr X was Alonso.
i thought it was well known that mr x was alan permane?
You mention a number of Piquet’s predecessors in Briatore’s team as having been subjected to the same no.2 treatment, but I would suggest that many of those were able to perform to a much higher standard than Piquet Jr. (Verstappen, for example, had about half a season of F3 behind him when he was unexpectedly thrust into the team and went no to score a podium in one event; Brundle went on to drive for McLaren; in ’03 Alonso was the newcomer and he trounced Trulli). So I don’t think it’s really accurate to simply say Piquet underperformed because of the circumstances. You make the best of the circumstances available, and Piquet didn’t really do that, irrespective of Singapore. A drive rsuch as Sato is far more deserving of a place on the 2010 grid than Piquet, in my view.
Thanks for your revert Joe. I am much relieved to hear this. There was some wild speculation that I came across suggesting this on the Web. And let me clarify; my question is of concern and not cynical. Like I said in my previous post, it was not evident (that Alonso is Mr. X) from the details of the evidence and the audio on the FIA website. I am a big Alonso fan, and the recent trouble he had faced in 2007 had Alonso haters salivating with the crash-gate controversy.
The only problem I have with Piquet’s owning up was the timing of it. If it had happened before he left Renault it would have been honourable. But afterwards? That’s more like putting the boot in isn’t it?
Others appear to have said this as well … but one more disagreement with you Joe.
What is missing from your comments is that Piquet didn’t stand up and tell the truth. What he did instead was crash his car and sign a new contract. He then raced for the team for a year.
Then, when it became obvious, even to the Piquets, that he was about to be sacked he tried to blackmail the team into keeping him. Only then did he come forward.
Now if the lad had said in the days following his crash “I did something wrong, I was under pressure to get a new contract signed, but I realize that is no excuse” then I think he might deserve some sympathy.
Perhaps even a team might have been willing to give him a look to determine if he’s really quite shit, or whether it was all big bad Flavio being mean to him.
But given what he did at the time and his behaviour since, one must draw the conclusion that his interests were entirely self-serving without consideration for the integrity of the sport or the safety of others.
I’d rather have Schumacher back in a car and ready to park it at Racasse again then to see Piquet return.
TD5boy,
I agree about giving Antony Davidson another shot. One of my favourite F1 memories is watching “Ant” run a practice session during the 2005 Indy F1.
He and Barichello were swapping lap records all session … but Ant was simply awesome, qualifying times every lap and very consistent.
[...] example: Nelson Piquet, Jr., a former Formula 1 race driver. As can be seen here, here and here; Mr. Piquet and his former bosses at Renault F1 agreed last year that Nelson would [...]
This has certainly gives me some ideas. Thank you
40hlzc Excellent article, I will take note. Many thanks for the story!