Berlin, Sep 19 (DPA) Williams driver Nico Rosberg said Friday that he feels like the real winner of last year’s Singapore Grand Prix following revelations that Renault driver Nelson Piquet Jr deliberately crashed.
Piquet is said to have crashed on team orders, thereby forcing a safety-car phase, which gave Piquet’s teammate Fernando Alonso an advantage as he was the only driver to have refueled at that stage.
Alonso went on to win the race – his only victory of the season, with Rosberg finishing second.
Renault has since said they would not contest the accusations.
“I feel like the real winner,” Rosberg said in an interview with the online edition of Bild newspaper Friday. “As second I would have won the race had the crash not occurred. But I can’t really buy myself anything for that.”
The 24-year-old criticised the deliberate crash of the Brazilian Piquet, who is said to have crashed on orders from team principal Flavio Briatore and chief engineer Pat Symonds.
“I would not have done something like that. No ways. That goes beyond what a team can demand from a driver. I would ignore the order and would then consider whether the team is the right one for me.”
With four races to go until the end of the season, Rosberg’s own future is still unclear. The German again confirmed that he had had contact with McLaren-Mercedes and Brawn GP.
But he could also remain with Williams, he said, without giving away what his preference would be. “I do not want to jeopardise my other options,” he added.
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