Piquet camp clarifies Ayrton Senna comments
23 August, 2012
Nelson Piquet Jnr. misquoted?
Aug.23 (GMM) Nelson Piquet Jnr. has denied reports that he doubts that the great Ayrton Senna would have succeeded in today’s Formula One environment, and has sought to clarify statements he made regarding Senna’s technical aptitude.
The former Renault driver’s spokesman Luis Ferrari said there is “absolutely no way” the Brazilian said his countryman Senna would not have won races in today’s cars.
And 27-year-old Piquet Jr, who has raced in the world of NASCAR since leaving F1 in 2009, blamed the controversy on some “careless members of the Brazilian media”.
In his column for Brazil’s Yahoo Esportes, the son of triple world champion Nelson Piquet said journalists also took his comments about Brazilian legend Emerson Fittipaldi out of context.
“(I) explained that after the end of his racing career, he (Piquet’s father) chose the entrepreneurial path rather than others who continue to explore their public persona,” said Piquet Jnr.
“I gave Emerson Fittipaldi as an example. Nowhere did I say that one is better or worse than the other,” he insisted.
“Along the same lines, they (journalists) made another attempt to create controversy where there is none with my statement about Ayrton Senna.
“I said that if Ayrton had raced ten years earlier he would not have had the success that my father had.
“They were different times and realities. At the turn of the 70s to the 80s, reliability was much lower and drivers had to have much more of a mechanical side.
“It was no accident that my father developed the tyre heaters, active suspension, improved the turbo engines and worked on several other solutions that everyone knows about.
“Senna came a little later, when it was possible to drive almost all of the time at 100 per cent performance without needing to be a development driver as before.
“Like me, Ayrton arrived in Europe concerned only about driving. He was a super fast driver and the best one in terms of pure speed.
“But he didn’t have the same repertoire for the mechanical side as did the previous generation, and so didn’t have to worry so much about preserving the gearbox, the engine.
“It’s obvious: each had its own reflection as the product of his time. Each did what was needed to dominate his era, and each time required different things.
“It’s as simple as that. And not controversial,” Piquet concluded.
Subbed by AJN.
Related posts:
- Piquet: Ayrton Senna would not have won anything in F1 today
- Tamara Ecclestone: Ayrton Senna my hero
- Video: Ayrton Senna movie trailer released
- Ayrton Senna: The legend lives on
- Bruno Senna racing in the shadow of Ayrton
I still say that this dumbas is out of his ******* mind!
what a shit for brains. Why should I care what this person says? He disgraced formula1,all racing in general, his country, and his family.
Please stick to nascrap. have a crappy beer, and please go the f*&k away now.
U make me sick with such comments…. Sick to the bone… You have disgraced yourself and millions and millions of Brazilians and non Brzillians who worship Senna and still do. You should have not opened your mouth in the first place! Nothing should be said about Senna but the truth and the truth is he was the greatest, the most genius, the most natural, the most successful driver formula one has ever known. Senna made and earned his way to the top of formula one, you bought your way into formula one and achieved zero! You should come out and apologise to Senna, his family, his fans and the whole world and admit that you are just jealous and envious of Senna’s great results and achievements. It is not about winning races. Senna was not just the greatest driver but he was a great human being who did a lot for the millions of poor Brazilians.
this kid needs a hug! his father might been busy when he was young.
Simple rule of thumb applies here:
“When you’re in a hole, Quit digging.”
Nelson, Just STFU and go race.