http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/sport/ ... 861132.eceNelson Piquet: the first 'Crashgate' interviewEdward Gorman
What lessons have you learnt from this experience?The main lesson is that some decisions require a deeper examination of your own conscience. A call home, a conversation with my dad, with my friends or with people who really matter to me and care about my work. That would have changed the whole episode. Some people have suggested I should have been punished by the FIA but, in reality, no one has been punished more than I have. I am at the beginning of my career, unlike the others who have been punished in this case. I am going to have to overcome many obstacles. I more or less have to start my career from scratch in Formula One.
When you got the order from the team to crash did you imagine that it could destroy your career?It all happened so quickly and I must confess that I could never possibly have weighed up the consequences. I was in a difficult position at the time and the renegotiation of my contract was in play if I didn’t accept the strategy. I was taken by surprise by the request of the two most important people in the team — after all, one of them was my manager.
You have always been a cool customer in front of the cameras. But did you ever break down because of this episode or lose sleep over it?Sincerely no, I didn’t have any of those reactions. But if your question is about how I’ve been feeling throughout all of this, I can tell you for sure that before I told the FIA, I was feeling an incredible weight on my shoulders. Today I am just trying to carry on with my work. Motor racing is my passion and I’ve got to work hard to prove my worth on the track. I know that I committed an error but I would have committed another if I hadn’t gone public with everything that happened to me.
After agreeing to crash your car, you had a whole day to reflect on it. Did you ever think about going back on the decision?The crash plan was only made hours before the race. I did not have time to think straight. I didn’t have a great qualifying and this was also a contributory factor to me accepting the strategy late in the day. If the proposal had been made during free practice [on Friday] I would have had more time to think and to act in another way.
You were asking repeatedly on the radio what lap you were on before the crash. What was going through your mind during the 14 laps before the crash?I was focused on what had been asked of me and that I should accomplish it. My anxiety at the time was natural . . . I felt fearful because the track was new and my crash would have to happen at exactly the spot signalled by Pat Symonds. On the other hand, the cars we race in today are prepared for even the most dangerous accidents.
You never mentioned Fernando Alonso in your testimony to the FIA. When did he know about the order from Renault? Was it only when you came clean?Alonso did not participate in the meeting when the idea of a crash was developed. However, I didn’t mention it. If he knew or not about the plan, is a detail that I do not know.
If your dad had been in Singapore, would the story be different?Probably yes. I don’t believe that the plan to crash would have been made. After the grand prix in Singapore, my father began to go to all the races.
One of the questions most raised by the media is why you gave up the information in this case only after you left Renault? What do you say about that?The first confession was made to the FIA by my father during the Brazil Grand Prix in 2008. During the first half of 2009 both myself and my father spoke to other people about the subject. But the formalisation of the allegations only came afterwards. It was a very serious charge and, for that reason, we had to be very careful and take careful steps. Some people have suggested that I was blackmailing Renault to continue my career but the situation was more complicated for a long time before. At each race it was always the same story of threatening to withdraw my contract or the renewal for the next season . . . I made the allegation so that no other driver would go through what I went through and, more importantly, so that the whole episode would be clarified the way it has been.
When you left Renault, you said some harsh things about Flavio Briatore. Why?As a result of Renault not being very competitive, Briatore channelled all his unhappiness on me. He preferred to take it out on me during the 2½ seasons I was in Formula One. I never saw other rookies being pushed as hard as I was. The pressure for results is normal but the mental harassment is another story
Ayrton Senna: WDC 1988,
1989, 1990, 1991
McLaren: WCC 1974, 1984, 1985, 1988, 1989, 1990, 1991, 1998,
1999, 2007McLaren: WDC 1974, 1976, 1984, 1985, 1986, 1988, 1989, 1990, 1991, 1998, 1999, 2008
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