Nelsinho did the unexpected - not only in Singapore last year but also last month by exposing his team management in the racing fixing scandal. The FIA offered him immunity for his role in the race fixing scandal. iSport's Motorsport Expert Kunal Shah is wondering what could be the next step for Nelsinho's self-destruct F1 career.
Flavio is out and for life. No direct associations with Formula1 or any official FIA racing series or even Formula1 drivers is possible. A strike on his basic livelihood some would say – but it’s a decision nevertheless. Harsh indeed! Pat Symonds has been issued a 5 year ban – the former Renault brain too till that period can’t associate himself with any forms of motorsport. Considering that they both were the apparent ‘brains’ behind the ‘fixing’ of last years Singapore Grand Prix – any purist would say that it’s a valid penalty – harsh or not.
Nelson Piquet Jr. claims that he was ‘forced’ into crashing in order to resurrect his Formula1 career and hopefully win a Renault contract extension for 2009. A contract extension he did clinch – however that made no difference to his results in the 2009 season. Struggling to match his twin World Champion team-mate’s pace and performances, the ING Renault F1 management decided to relieve him of his race driver duties and promote rookie Romain Grosjean to a race driver’s seat.
Not only was poor ol’ Nelsinho irked at being sacked, he also couldn’t fathom the treatment that was meted out to him by his team bosses. Worse, his team boss was also his driver manager!
One does wonder what prompted Nelsinho to go against the system. And go against the system he did. But why? And when he did, why was he not penalized for his role?
Nelsinho is the son of former 3 times Formula1 World Champion, Nelson Piquet Sr. While he’s got the genes of a racer, the temperament one would say is lacking. He did show good progress in the junior formulae leading to Formula1 – but one [and he] must admit that he had it easier working his way up due to a former World Champion father. Not only did he have well funded drives and teams to help him perform better as a junior, but he also had a ‘family team’ manage his racing cars – with his dad at the helm of affairs. Not to mention the preferential treatment that he would get over his team-mates. Perks of having a famous father.
He did impress in his A1 Grand Prix days, where he clinched the first ever World Cup of Motorsport for Brazil. He was faster and he beat the field without much effort. The team was run by ex-Brazilian F1 drivers and that he was ‘selected’ ahead of many other Brazilian drivers was not a surprise to many either.
And suddenly this quick but brattish driver made his way into Formula1 – courtesy of his lineage or not. He found himself in a series where everyone only respected the ‘clock’. The faster you went the more respect you’d gain. A series also where he couldn’t find his feet and was often found lagging at the rear of the grid; where he was consistently out paced by his team-mate. And since he couldn’t do the talking on – track he decided to talk off it.
Often his attitude was questioned across the paddock. Nelsinho couldn’t get over the fact that he couldn’t call the shots as with his junior formula racing days and also his father was one among the many multiple World Champions that adorned the grid every GP.
His performances coupled with that attitude meant that the team members didn’t rally behind him every fortnight and increasingly lost confidence in his faith to drive the team forward. Barring one podium place Nelsinho has not much to talk about his controversial and short – lived Formula1 career.
So what next for Nelsinho? Can he still get a drive in Formula1? Will F1 teams still consider him as a prospect? The answer again is a No and then a Yes. No sane Formula1 team on the current grid will consider him as their driver. Reasons – firstly, he never showed the pace on track and secondly, of course, he not only chose to go against his employer, but the entire system of Formula1. He chose to break the decorum that the Formula1 paddock would guard against the public. A ‘yes’ would only be possible on one condition – his father either buys out a controlling stake in a Formula1 team and ‘gifts’ him a seat or he starts a team of his own. There were rumours that the Piquet’s were considering buying out the BMW team. Considering that Formula1 is getting cheaper by the year – this indeed is the best time to buy an F1 team. Also, Manor F1 openly declared that they wouldn’t ‘mind’ considering Nelsinho as their driver – but only of course depended on how much money he brought to the table. So will the power of the father resurrect Nelsinho’s controversial career? Or will he have to seek refuge in the lowly series that operate out of the USA?
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a guest
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... nelsinho came out very lightly out of the crashgate....plus he complained only after being sacked and that doesnt say much good about him.....i hope he doesnt come back cuz he's hardly gonna attract new fans to f1 |
a guest
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... Nelsinho is a Wuss....Tell him to learn some driving from his father........Thr wont be any F1 team tht would sign him as a driver nw bcoz of his back-biting abilities.....A$$hole |
a guest
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... well you may think of it as success due to dad famous name... but it is quiet possible that Renault was just focusing on the one star driver they had. Giving him all the possible service and better parts, isnt it? Also Kunal, when u say he went against the system, do u mean F1 is a load of crap then or still a 'pure sport'. Would u not go against your team if they made u crash into a wall??? |
a guest
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... @ the above comment: Dude.....If he didn't want to crash into the wall....he just should have resisted his team's order and not come out barking all shit after being kicked out of Renault....BLOODY LOSER PIQUET |
Kunal Shah
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... Renault was biased and overtly so - I do agree. But for any new comer - its upto him to rally the team to favour him rather than expect it. Also, Flavio at that point of time needed results and there was no doubt that Fernando was a better prospect. As for the purity of the sport - I would say it still is - but there are hidden skeletons and we all know that. However, had Nelsinho spoken out before his sacking - this story would've been interpreted differently. |
Srikanth
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... agreed....if he complained about if a little earlier when he was still employed he'd be looked upon as a hero....other big teams perhaps migh still not hire him cuz every team tries their best to break a rule here and there....but the new ones might definitely consider him plus he'll have a lot of support..... |
a guest
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... never said Nelson was not wrong to crash the car. He was a complete Ass Hole of the first order to do so. Even bigger to go and admit it 1 full year after the GP. But here my friends we are missing the point, Flavio was a dick to Nelson and Nelson in turn was a bigger dick to follow the orders... My point here is : F1 has actually turned into entertainment ! think of it.... which was the last battle 'on track' that u guys remember ??? all races have been clean wins... well most of them. Mr. Kunal Shah do you think so too? |
Srikanth
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... well any sport is entertainment....so i dont get ur point...plus everyone understands the need for overtaking and are trying to make rules which allow tht without taking a step back in development cuz thts wat f1 is all about....i dont see what it has to do with the crashgate...... |
a guest
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... crash gate ensured Alonso`s victory... otherwise the result would definitely be different (but who knows), hence it was 'staged' and hence I think of it as entertainment as opposed a clean sport! Well Srikant if u go back into history and read the rules during the times of Senna, u will find that refuelling was banned, tyres were slicks, no aerodynamics restriction except side skirts and the dimensions of wings. And then see the rules till 2008, and compare them to the 2009/2010 rules. The same restrictions are being applied again (except aero restriction) as the cars were reaching engineering perfection w.r.t cornering speed till the end of 2004/2008. Now the FIA wants aerodynamic downforce not to be driver aid ! heh ! I will not be surprised if they again take back the ban on winglets and increase aerodynamic downforce and re introduce refuelling (which will happen soon in a season or 2 after 2010). whats the point of all this, FIA is trying to get as many views and spectators as possible by playing with rules to make things more 'fun' and 'exciting' by aiding overtaking ! :D ask urself, which parts of a circuit is overtaking done? ,,corners right (i`m sure u`ll disagree)? when u dont have traction control/aero downforce how do u expect it to be a better show to the viewers. I`m all against driver aids, but aero downforce is not a driver aid, its like the chassis of a car, each team has to fine tune it and come up with the most balanced design ! Think of all the money which has been spent till 2008 to improve aerodynamics! And well F1 is not about development... the most important piece of engineering in the car is engine and that piece is being normalised across all teams, there will be no uniqueness of a team and no strong point of a team will be a flawless engine ! And yeah, the show would had been great to watch if in-season testing wasnt banned and teams could improve the car every day ! Recession my ass, Kimi gets 25 MILLION a year and so will Alonso ! |
Srikanth
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... when sport is fixed by one or few people, i'll call it cheating....when its fixed by everyone, i'll call it entertainment.... they removed traction control so that dirver errors arent buffered by the device...therefore more overtaking....they reduced the rear wing so tht aerodynamic disturbances when behind another car is reduced...this makes the car stick closer to its opponent and thus allow MORE OVERTAKING. to compensate for the lack of downforce around corners, they put on slicks...the effect was there.....it was just not enough....btw i've never read of aerodynamic down force being classified as driver aid.... the engine costs a lot to develop and tht made it a manufacturer's game...to restore parity they froze development....it wasnt normalized.....each team has their own design in accordance to rules....some areas can still be developed.....which is why toyota and renault have fallen behind and mercedes is now best.... the drivers get a lot of money becuz of demand versus supply.....it makes gud business sense to pay hamilton or alonso a lot of money if sponsors pay more for their brand value in certain market segments....the recession comes in when other teams with low brand value get lesser sponsors and have to downsize or wen honda toyota renault all wanna quit...... |
a guest
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... Srikanth, As much as I like ur passion for the sport and wanna link the business of manufacturers to it, I think u r not getting point. All the manufacturers term F1 as a marketing exercise and dont plan to make money out of it (well thats the plan). But the score big on the brand been showcased around the world like gods of racing ! ever seen a Ferrari ad for any of their cars. Well try digging into history, they dont! y because they had Schumi, who created an image 'F1 = Ferrari'. Even now when u think of F1, the first car that comes to ur mind is the scarlet Scuderia. But whats all the hype abt if the cars aint good enough, well thats where the continous RnD pays these ppl. They will go to the limits of engineering to extract that last 1/1000th of a second from a lap and push the engine to the red lines to ge tthe last bhp without screwing their engines. Now, with all the engine regulations forcing them to 'detune' their engines and rev limit them as well !!! whats in F1 for Honda and Toyota, you really think that Honda the biggest manufacturer of IC Engines on this planet and supposedly the maker of the most reliable engines is bankrupt !! Its a downside of F1, the FIA plays a lot with rules. thats the same reason Michilen pulled out of the single tyre bid! Aero is big driver aid rather a car aid i`d say, improves ur a corner ability, simply! If u take that away, ur car is fast in the straights, and slippery in corners, even slicks cant make up for the lost traction. Now, reducing engine rev=reducing power output and so is reducing engine size and no. of cylinders. the problem is that now the engines make enough power which is controllable in the hands of the F1 drivers, earlier the cars were rockets.... goto toutube and look at a onboard shot of a 2004/2005 ferrari or McLaren. note the speeds and compare to current cars.... If the engines were not downsized and rev limited, then the drivers had MORE power than they could control and this is where the DRVIER SKILL comes into picture. Ever heard Valentino Rossi talking about the same? u`ll get the point then, cos right now its me who is talking, but yeah this is true. Traction control is name sake, no racing driver likes it! Utimately what matters is that, have the rule changes made a difference in overtaking or made the race more driver dependent that before. No. They have made it more car dependent now (which is good for engine manufacturers), and with very tight restrictions on engine (which is bad for them). All these things combined with have made a *%&#ed; up image of F1 ! not that I care, I just wanna see fair and throat slitting moves on the track, and not the drama associated to the rules n regulations and the fixing! but thats all we got, so u enjoy (try) Suzuka mate... think of it... it might be Suzuka without Toyota and Honda next year, still excites u? All these things with the crash gate have made me think that F1's becoming a load of crap in the hands of oldies, fuck its the highest level of racing.... allow some elbow room to the teams and manufacturers, there is enough money in the world to go and spend on it ! Anyways, Opinions are like assholes, each one has one. |
Kunal Shah
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... Well Sport in the purist sense is lost or I'd rather use the word 'evolved' - plain sports is no longer what the viewers expect. One of the many reasons why Kabbadi, Snooker, etc. aren't TV sports yet! Sporting-tainment is the new word that is used - Formula1, IPL, etc. offer entertainment alongwith the sport and there's nothing wrong in it. But of course 'staged' sports do take the excitement away even from Sporting-tainment! But I also wonder why does controversy follow Alonso to every team that he goes to. First Mclaren and now Renault!! Will it be Ferrari next? |
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