Piquet not expecting forgiveness
WHISTLEBLOWER Nelson Piquet Jr believes he will have to rebuild his career from scratch, having admitted helping to fix last year’s Singapore Grand Prix.
The Brazilian admits he is unlikely to be forgiven for agreeing to crash at the race, thereby allowing then-Renault team-mate Fernando Alonso to win. But the 24-year-old, who was granted immunity in exchange for the testimony that damned Renault, Flavio Briatore and Pat Symonds, says the episode has only made him more determined to repeat the success of his father, a three-time champion.
“I realise that I have to start my career from zero,” he said in a statement. “I can only hope that a team will recognise how badly I was stifled at Renault and give me an opportunity to show what I promised in my career in F3 and GP2. What can be assured is that there will be no driver in F1 as determined as me to prove myself.”
He added: “I would like to repeat that I am so sorry to those who work in F1 (including the many good people at Renault) the fans and the governing body. I do not expect this to be forgiven or forgotten but at least now people can draw their conclusions based upon what really happened.”