Piquet has another go at 'ignorant' Briatore

Friday 14th August 2009

Nelson Piquet has launched yet another attack on Flavio Briatore, claiming the Renault team boss knows as much about Formula One cars as his sister does.

Piquet, who has fired by Renault in the aftermath of another point-less race in Hungary, has made it abundantly clear at the time that he blames Briatore for his sacking.

But, it would appear Piquet's anger has yet to run out of steam.

"He is ignorant about Formula One," Piquet told this week's Autosport magazine. "Maybe because of all the things that didn't favour me put me so low that he just didn't care. He didn't understand what is going on with the team.

"If you listen to the pit-wall radio, it's like a joke. He hasn't got a clue what is happening in the race. Sometimes he asks if a driver has slick or wet tyres when it is obvious.

"Everyone knows that his ego is bigger than anything else. He likes to show off. You can be a very good businessman and whatever, but the F1 team itself can do very well without him.

"When I first started he would attend all of the meetings and briefings, but taking away the business side, he makes comments that don't make any sense.

"The only good thing the team takes out of him is his good relationship with Bernie and the FIA. Other than that, he doesn't know what is going on.

"It's like listening to something my sister would say about the car. Pat Symonds is the guy who really understands what is going on with the team."

As for whether he thinks his recent rants could cost him dearly in the future, Piquet reckons more drivers should start voicing their opinions.

"We're free to say whatever we feel like and I don't see why more drivers don't do that," he said.

"It was important for everyone to know what has been going on and not to hide like a lot of other drivers tend to do because they are scared that it could put their career in danger."

Your Comments

leo88

"I have nothing against NP. But we have to see the whole picture to percieve the reason why he was sacked. Let's honestly face it, NP doesn't perform well last year as well as this season. He doesn't deserve the nod of Flav who is more concerned about Fernando. F1 is a big business. Big businesses demands good result. Sponsors demands good results. So at the end of the day if these bosses don't see impressive performance numbers, common sense will tell you they don't need you anymore. So mudslinging rather than blaming himself is unproductive for NP at present & his future career. He might have this same tendency again to blame his boss in the future if he doesn't perform well again just in case he gets a race seat next time around."

Bannor

""It's like listening to something my sister would say" - Actually, I thought Piquet was the girl of the family!"

Bannor

"Sounds to me as if Piquet at Renault was a real love-affair!!! LOL! They deserved each other! "

marmac97

"Can understand young Piquet being .. er "piqued" over being sacked and his initial rant, but surely giving Flav another broadside is 1 going to be adverse for his future F1 employment prospects and 2 not going to oust Flav from Renault. Perhaps NP realises his only hopes of a another chance in F1 is if Dad buys a Team or he gets a Pay to drive seat. And sorry NP but even if you do, on the form we've seen from 2 seasons, i think we will just see more DNF's and mid pack finishes. Good luck for the future."

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