“I crashed intentionally,” stated Nelson Piquet Jr. giving full account of his story detailing how he crashed at the 2008 Singapore Grand Prix so that Fernando Alonso could win the race. Renault had earlier refused to give any official comment on such an admittance which can be a serious threat to the team and may lead to it being thrown out of the sport.

Later, it issued a statement which read as “"The ING Renault F1 Team and its Managing Director Flavio Briatore personally wish to state that they have commenced criminal proceedings against Nelson Piquet Junior and Nelson Piquet Senior in France concerning the making of false allegations and a related attempt to blackmail the team into allowing Mr Piquet Jr to drive for the remainder of the 2009 season.” The matter has been referred to the British policy for further scrutiny.

The explanation for such a crash, is that it would cause the safety car to come out, causing all drivers to have to slow down. Alonso could then go for a fuel refill, without losing much time. Hence, he would also be able to start the race with a much lighter fuel load, and build up a lead.

The sport’s governing body has now given immunity to Nelson Piquet as long as his version of the story is found to be true. According to FIA President Max Mosley, “We have said to him that, and I don't know exactly how it was phrased, but he has been told that if he tells us the truth then he will not be proceeded against individually."

A South African website had earlier published Piquet’s leaked statement claiming that he was coerced to crash his car at 2008 Singapore Grand Prix. Mosley has promised to be careful of such leaks in future.

Courtesy: www.cartradeindia.com