Gracia: Piquet should not have immunity
http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/78732
Carlos Gracia, the head of the Spanish motorsport federation, has criticised the FIA for granting immunity to Nelson Piquet Jr in the Renault race-fixing case. Although Renault remains liable to sanctions from the governing body when it appears before the World Motor Sport Council in Paris on Monday, Piquet was given immunity from any punishment when he agreed to make a statement to the FIA about events in last year's Singapore Grand Prix.
Gracia believes Piquet is equally culpable in the affair and should also face the hearing.
"This kid, if it was up to me, wouldn't be allowed to walk blind people on the sidewalk," Gracia told Spanish radio station Onda Cero. "It's such yobbish behaviour from which he has also benefited, because, like he says in his sworn statement, he did it so he would get a contract renewal for 2009, and he will be paid until the end of the year.
"In that case this is a person should not only be sanctioned by the Council and the FIA, but he should also be prosecuted in an ordinary court.
"I found out through the press that Mr Nelsinho was going to get immunity. It would be a total shamelessness if this happened in the FIA."
He also criticised Piquet's triple world champion Nelson Piquet Senior's handling of the scandal, and the younger Piquet's performances at Renault.
"He is a silly kid who doesn't know if he has pushed the throttle or not, because it's no coincidence that he's had 17 accidents since he's been at Renault," said Gracia.
"The father has an uncontrollable kid and he is a resentful parent. And when they turn the fan on, they try to get the s**t to hit as many people as possible."
But despite his outspoken comments about the Piquet family, Gracia thinks it is correct that Flavio Briatore and Pat Symonds left their positions at the Renault team.
"Renault is a very serious company," he said. "It's a company that has been in the world of motorsport for many years, without any kind of immorality, and if the immorality was caused because of those two gentlemen, then it's a good thing that they are out of Formula 1.
"Because be it Flavio Briatore, as big as his name is, or be it the engineer, what's clear is that we don't want these people in Formula 1."
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