Nelson Piquet Jr has said he knows he will never fully escape from the ‘shadow’ of Crashgrate and the events of the 2008 Singapore Grand Prix. His comments came this week after the Piquets won their libel case against the Renault F1 team.
“Looking back, it seems like a lifetime ago,” he said in an exclusive interview with British newspaper The Times. “I apologise unreservedly for what I did. I just hope people will understand the pressures I was under.
“It is no excuse, but I was a deeply unhappy person. I am a stronger man today. If the question was asked again, I am sure I would have the strength to say no. But I know I will never fully escape from its shadow.”
Piquet also recalled that moment he crashed: “They wanted the safety car on lap 14," he continued. “It actually felt good to agree to do something for the team after all the criticism I had taken. I did not even consider the morality of it.
“As the laps ticked by, I knew what was coming, but it was difficult to believe what I was going to do. I was almost more nervous of messing it up for the team than for my own safety.
“I was so scared, I could hardly breathe. I was straining my eyes to see the board each time I completed the circuit so I would know which lap I was on, but it was dark out there and I could hardly see a thing.
“I screamed into the radio again and again, 'What lap are we in? What lap are we in?' They confirmed the lap and I began to brace myself because I knew what I was about to do - even if I could not believe I was going to do it.
“I came around the chicane on lap 14 and I could feel my stomach tighten. I was incredibly scared, it was like a dream.
“I touched the rear wheel on the wall and then stepped on the throttle to crash into the other wall. I felt no pain on impact, but the adrenalin was pumping. I felt in control of the car throughout the crash.”
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