The Renault Formula One team has finally apologized to Nelson Piquet Jr. and his father, Nelson Piquet Sr. The father and son won the case in the High Court following the accusations of “false allegations” and an “attempt to blackmail
the team” by Renault.
Nelson Piquet Jr. had crashed in the Singapore race in 2008 which gave an advantage to his teammate Fernando Alonso. Alonso went on to win the race from that point. The Formula One fraternity was shocked after the revelations that
came from Nelson Piquet Jr. regarding the crash in the race.
Piquet revealed that he was asked by the team to crash deliberately to allow Fernando a chance of a win. The revelations came out after the Brazilian driver was left out of the team following his poor show in the season.
The Renault team reacted strongly at the revelations of Piquet. The team claimed that Piquet and his father, a former three time champion was making these statements following the decision of Piquet being sacked from the team.
Renault also claimed that this was an attempt by Piquet Jr. and his father to blackmail their team to allow Piquet Jr. to race for the remainder of the season during which he was sacked.
The motor sports governing body, FIA carried out an investigation and found the Renault team guilty of fixing the race and asking Piquet to crash. This saw a two year suspension ban for the Renault team and the team boss Flavio
Briatore was suspended from the sport for life. However, this ban was later revised and the suspension was reduced until 2013.
After the decision from the High Court, Piquet and his father said that the decision and the apology from the Renault team would mean that the controversy has come to an end. The controversy led to the bad reputation of Piquet
Jr. in Formula 1. Due to this, he had to race in NASCAR. He and his father were delighted on the decision and they hope that the air would be cleared now.
The Renault team will also have to pay some damages to Piquet. The court also stated that the team should avoid leveling any allegations on Piquet in the future. The career of the former Formula One legend, Nelson Piquet Sr. was
one of the greatest in the sport. He dominated the sport in the 80’s. He will also be delighted with the decision. The Lawyer of the two stated that this saga shouldn’t leave any scratch on the career of Nelson Piquet Sr.
The junior Piquet who also represented Brazil in the A1 GP in its very first season said that he would not be begging any team for a possible return to the sport. He has the talent and if he would be considered by any teams in
the future, he will definitely give it a go.
There are teams which haven’t finalized their driver lineup for the next season in 2011. With this decision, there may be a possibility of Piquet returning to the sport. If he does come back, Piquet will make sure to avoid any
further controversies. Even the Renault team has an empty seat for the Driver’s lineup for 2011 but the chances of Piquet returning to the same team are almost nil.
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