Nelson Piquet Jr has attempted to claw back some dignity on the back of the Fixgate mess by saying that he does not expect to be forgiven for his part in the race-fixing scandal, but will accept the consequences of his part in the whole affair.
Piquet Jr escaped any punishment by the FIA after gaining immunity in return for disclosing all the details of the sorry goings-on in Singapore last season, but now faces the prospect of forever being known as "the man who crashed on purpose", and his motorsport career now looks more finished than it did when he initially left Renault for simply being a bit slow.
Piquet was present at today's WMSC hearing, but left the building before the verdict was announced. Later on, he released a statement which said that he was glad that the whole matter was finished.
"I am relieved that the FIA investigation has now been concluded," Piquet Jr sighed in the statement, "Those now running the Renault F1 Team took the decision, as I did, that it is better that the truth be known and accept the consequences. The most positive thing to come from bringing this to the attention of the FIA is that nothing like it will ever happen again.
"I bitterly regret my actions to follow the orders I was given. I wish every day that I had not done it. I don't know how far my explanation will go to making people understand because for many being a racing driver is an amazing privilege, as it was for me. All I can tell you is that my situation at Renault turned into a nightmare."
To the tune of a mournful violin, he continued: "Having dreamed of being a Formula 1 driver and having worked so hard to get there, I found myself at the mercy of Mr Briatore. His true character, which had previously only been known to those he had treated like this in the past, is now known."
Piquet went on to describe his time under Briatore, adding further fuel to the almost total sullying of every aspect of the disgraced former Renault boss as he did so.
"Mr Briatore was my manager as well as the team boss, he had my future in his hands but he cared nothing for it. By the time of the Singapore GP he had isolated me and driven me to the lowest point I had ever reached in my life. Now that I am out of that situation I cannot believe that I agreed to the plan, but when it was put to me I felt that I was in no position to refuse.
"Listening now to Mr Briatore's reaction to my crash and hearing the comments he has made to the press over the last two weeks it is clear to me that I was simply being used by him then to be discarded and left to ridicule."
Despite his part in the affair, Piquet insisted that he remained determined to return to top-level racing in the future, though how he was planning to achieve that with the dual issues of Fixgate and the fact that he's a bit crap hanging over his head remains to be seen.
"I have had to learn some very difficult lessons over the last 12 months and reconsider what is valuable in life," he explained, trying to turn the whole thing into an episode of The Wonder Years, "What has not changed is my love for Formula 1 and hunger to race again. I realise that I have to start my career from zero.
"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 Formula 1 as determined as me to prove myself.
"As my final words on this matter, I would like to repeat that I am so sorry to those who work in Formula 1 (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."
| < Prev | Next > |
|---|
