Nelson Piquet Jr, the son of three-time F1 world champion Nelson Piquet, has recently opened up on the infamous Crashgate scandal he was involved in back in 2008. The 37-year-old has claimed that he was ‘treated as a dog’ by Renault and that he did not hamper Felipe Massa‘s chances of winning the world championship.
Piquet Jr was ordered to deliberately crash at the 2008 Singapore Grand Prix to bring out a safety car and provide his then-Renault teammate, Fernando Alonso, with an opportunity to win the race. While Alonso went on to win the race, the ramifications of Piquet Jr’s deliberate crash were far deeper.
Piquet Jr’s crash cost Massa a potential podium finish at the Singapore GP, resulting in the 41-year-old losing the championship to Lewis Hamilton by just one point. This entire fiasco has once again come to light after reports emerged that Massa is considering legal options to help him win the 2008 title.
Nelson Piquet Jr claims Renault bullied him
While recently speaking on the Pelas Pistas podcast, Piquet Jr claims that Renault boss Flavio Briatore pressurized him to deliberately crash at the 2008 Singapore Grand Prix. The 37-year-old adds that the only reason why he followed the team’s order was to protect his career.
“Many people ask me if I would do it again, and of course, the answer is no. But to be at that age (23), under that pressure and having nobody there with you, with the bullying, complaining, pressure and always being told: ‘this is your last chance’ (was tough),” explained Piquet Jr.
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The Brazilian’s scathing remarks about his team and Briatore did not end there as he went on to slam them for ill-treatment. He explained how the team went on to dismiss him despite everything he had done for them. “Romain Grosjean will take your place. I said: ‘You can’t do that’ but they didn’t care and treated me like a dog,” he explained.
While the extent of Piquet Jr’s involvement in the Crashgate scandal continues to remain unclear, it is fair to say that this incident changed his life completely for the worse. Since his crash meant that fellow Brazilian Felipe Massa failed to win the title, many fans continue to hold him responsible for the injustice caused to the 41-year-old.
Piquet Jr says Renault’s objective was never to cost Massa the title
Even though Nelson Piquet Jr’s crash played a critical role in Felipe Massa losing the 2008 title, it is pertinent to note that Ferrari also made a huge mistake at the 2008 Singapore Grand Prix. The team made a costly error in the pits, which dropped the 41-year-old outside the points from a podium spot.
Since Massa failed to score any points at the Singapore GP, he lost the championship to Lewis Hamilton by a point. Piquet Jr explained that since Ferrari’s error also resulted in Massa losing the title, he is not entirely responsible.
“We didn’t know what was going to happen and Felipe could very well have won that race if the [bad] pitstop didn’t happen,” he explained.
