Nelson Piquet has revealed his intention in 2010 is to race in NASCAR. The Brazilian had been working behind the scenes to secure a drive with one of the new F1 teams, but to no avail.
I once talked to Nelson about his racing ambitions, and where he might see himself after F1. This was in Nelson's debut season, in mid-2008, and at the time he had no reason to believe he wouldn't be in F1 for the next decade. But things didn't work out that way.
He spoke of his interest in seeing out his racing days in America, and was unspecific as to whether this would be in open or closed wheel cars.
We were chatting over dinner aboard his father's yacht in Barcelona's marina. "Racing in America changes
every year, it's never stable. But after Formula One I would like to continue
racing," he said. "I've only just started, but I hope I'm in F1 for a long time to come,
and afterwards I may choose something more easygoing."
He also cited his ambition to win at Le Mans, a race he has contested before with Aston Martin.
"What I would most like to
do is win the Le Mans 24 Hours. That's part of my dream."
Today, he said he's putting his happiness first by staying away from F1. The US will appeal to him I think, for he has family in Miami and New York and he will carve out a nice lifestyle there, where 'Crash-gate' wasn't on the news radar.
"Being successful in Formula 1 was always my goal but I have learnt that happiness is just as important as ambition and after my first 18 months in F1 did not go as planned I have decided to focus on something different and have chosen to take a route in America. have found a good group of people that are really willing to help me in my career and I am grateful that they are there for me. I think it will be a positive environment and a good life experience."
He also thanked his friends at Renault and GP2, and repeated his intentions for a return to Le Mans. "I am sure I'll still do some racing in Europe as I have a lot of ambitions in my life, one of which has always been to win the Le Mans 24 Hours."
I really enjoy reading the articles on this blog. I'll bookmark this so I can read more later.
I really enjoy reading the articles on this blog. I'll bookmark this so I can read more later.
This is interesting, please post more often about Piquet turns to NASCAR - Metro F1 - The gossip from F1's pit lane, paddock and parties from our F1 Correspondent Adam Hay-Nicholls.!