Piquet Jr testing at Portugal last year.
FORMER WORLD CHAMPION Kimi Raikkonen believes ‘crashgate’ fall-guy Nelson Piquet Jr may struggle to secure a Formula 1 seat in the future.
The Ferrari star said Piquet Jr’s role in deliberately causing an accident at the 2008 Singapore Grand Prix could make the Brazilian a persona non grata in the F1 paddock despite acting as a whistleblower.
“He admitted (involvement) himself (in the scandal) but I think it will be difficult for him to get back after that kind of thing,” he said.
“It’s not something I want to be involved in. If he comes back, it’s going to be good for him, if not maybe there is a reason for it.
“It’s not a nice thing for the sport but unfortunately some kind of scandal seems to happen every year. Hopefully it stops at some point and there’s more about racing.”
Williams’ Nico Rosberg wasn’t as diplomatic when questioned over Piquet Jr’s actions, which may have ultimately cost the German a debut Grand Prix victory.
Rosberg said he was flabbergasted Piquet Jr, who stands accused of concocting the scheme, was able to escape punishment in spite of his role as one of the scandal’s main protagonists.
“I won the race because the team who finished first cheated. Now it’s the big Renault scandal. If we had protested, I could’ve won the race last year. But it’s too late now,” he said.
“It’s a pity for the sport that something like that has happened. The people responsible have been kicked out. The only thing I don’t understand is that Piquet didn’t get anything.
“For me, he’s just as involved as the others because he is the one who actually did it and agreed to it.”
Meanwhile, Australian star Mark Webber has launched a stern defence of his manager and former Renault F1 boss Flavio Briatore.
Webber said Formula 1 will undoubtedly miss the flamboyant Italian’s influence, stating he is a person of the upmost integrity.
“I have had Flavio looking after me for 11 years. I have never looked at the contract after I signed it on that first day and there are not many people in this paddock you can do that with. He has been sensational for me,” he said.
“I won’t work with anyone else in the future if I can’t work with him.”
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I think he may have a hard time getting into a team for another reason. YES he followed orders and crashed (even if that was wrong by the sport)but at the same time he ONLY came out with it because he was feeling disgruntled about losing his seat. So lets see, You can get him to do anything but if you screw with him at all he’ll backstab you for it. Nice work idiot.
Piquet was never any good anyway. He’s only there because of his father’s name and money. Sure he won some races in the lower categories but so have many other rich kid hacks. At the end of the day he is the idiot that crashed the car. For eg if you work as a mechanic and your boss tells you steal that car or you’re out fo a job and you going to do it? You’re an idiot if you do. He should be banned from racing forever!
And Mark shouldn’t be saying sh#$, he should be concentrating on winning a race. He’s always complained about not having the right car, this year he has had arguably the best car in the paddock, and what has he done with it? One lousey win all year. He is overrated and inconsistant.
Piquet Jr. found himself without a seat, not because of the crash-gate saga, but from his poor performance. And he had plenty of opportunity to prove himself. I’m actually surprised he even had a race seat at the beginning of this season.
Backstabbing his team was just a stupid career move if his plans are to continue racing in ANY category.
It’s unsurprising that Piquet will struggle to find another team willing to take him on. No-one likes a snitch, and everyone cheats in some way at that level.