Autoblog http://www.autoblog.com Autoblog http://www.blogsmithmedia.com/www.autoblog.com/media/feedlogo.gif Autoblog http://www.autoblog.com en-us Copyright 2013 Weblogs, Inc. The contents of this feed are available for non-commercial use only. Blogsmith http://www.blogsmith.com/<![CDATA[Watch Piquet and Mansell bend some sheetmetal in Ford Fusion GP]]>http://www.autoblog.com/2013/02/12/watch-piquet-and-mansell-bend-some-sheetmetal-in-ford-fusion-gp/http://www.autoblog.com/2013/02/12/watch-piquet-and-mansell-bend-some-sheetmetal-in-ford-fusion-gp/http://www.autoblog.com/2013/02/12/watch-piquet-and-mansell-bend-some-sheetmetal-in-ford-fusion-gp/#commentsFiled under: , , , , ,



As we told you about before, there were four episodes planned for the Ford Fusion GP campaign in Brazil, and the whole series has now run its course. The Ford ads pit Brazilian Formula One driver Nelson Piquet against English F1 pilot Nigel Mansell driving the new Fusion, the two coming together again after their partnership at the Williams F1 team ended in a miserable state more than 20 years ago.

They're lined up for you below, in reverse chronological order. You should watch number three first, though, as it adds a bit more spice to the NASCAR action in the fourth.

Continue reading Watch Piquet and Mansell bend some sheetmetal in Ford Fusion GP

Watch Piquet and Mansell bend some sheetmetal in Ford Fusion GP originally appeared on Autoblog on Tue, 12 Feb 2013 15:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>2013 ford fusionf1fordford brazilford do brasilford fusion gpformula onefusionfusion grand prixmansellnelson piquetnigel mansellpiquetporto alegrevideoTue, 12 Feb 2013 15:00:00 EST http://www.autoblog.com/feed/20458456/article-comments.xml http://www.autoblog.com/feed/2013/02/12/watch-piquet-and-mansell-bend-some-sheetmetal-in-ford-fusion-gp/20458456/article-detail.xml 20458456 http://www.blogcdn.com/www.autoblog.com/media/2013/02/fusiongp4_thumbnail.jpg http://www.blogcdn.com/www.autoblog.com/media/2013/02/fusiongp4.jpg <![CDATA[Nelson Piquet and Nigel Mansell revisit bitter F1 rivalry in... Ford Fusion campaign?]]>http://www.autoblog.com/2013/01/23/nelson-piquet-and-nigel-mansell-revisit-bitter-f1-rivalry-in/http://www.autoblog.com/2013/01/23/nelson-piquet-and-nigel-mansell-revisit-bitter-f1-rivalry-in/http://www.autoblog.com/2013/01/23/nelson-piquet-and-nigel-mansell-revisit-bitter-f1-rivalry-in/#commentsFiled under: , , , , ,

Fusion Grand Prix video screencap

Formula One World Champions Nelson Piquet and Nigel Mansell haven't been on good terms since the 1986 season, when Piquet joined Mansell at the Williams team and Piquet spent the year privately fuming about not being granted the status of number one driver. Things only got worse from there - even though Piquet won the title the following year with Williams, still partnered with Mansell, the fuming was a lot less private.

They're back together after a 25-year silence, in the city of Porto Alegre, Brazil to drive the new Ford Fusion. Called "Fusion Grand Prix," both men get the new Ford sedan, prepped to their liking - but still street legal, we assume - for a race to decide... well, who is faster behind the wheel of a Fusion.

There will be four episodes, with the first two having already aired. The third episode comes on January 29 and the race happens February 5. You'll find two video episodes and a press release below, but note - because it's a campaign for Ford Brazil, Piquet's dialogue in the vids isn't translated, so hit the Closed Captioning button to hear his side of the smack talking.

Continue reading Nelson Piquet and Nigel Mansell revisit bitter F1 rivalry in... Ford Fusion campaign?

Nelson Piquet and Nigel Mansell revisit bitter F1 rivalry in... Ford Fusion campaign? originally appeared on Autoblog on Wed, 23 Jan 2013 12:45:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>2013 ford fusionf1fordford brazilford do brasilformula onefusionfusion grand prixmansellnelson piquetnigel mansellpiquetporto alegrevideoWed, 23 Jan 2013 12:45:00 EST http://www.autoblog.com/feed/20435907/article-comments.xml http://www.autoblog.com/feed/2013/01/23/nelson-piquet-and-nigel-mansell-revisit-bitter-f1-rivalry-in/20435907/article-detail.xml 20435907 http://www.blogcdn.com/www.autoblog.com/media/2013/01/fusiongp_thumbnail.jpg http://www.blogcdn.com/www.autoblog.com/media/2013/01/fusiongp.jpg <![CDATA[Crashgate Keeps Gate Crashing: Piquets reportedly suing Briatore for libel]]>http://www.autoblog.com/2010/04/02/crashgate-keeps-gate-crashing-piquets-reportedly-suing-briatore/http://www.autoblog.com/2010/04/02/crashgate-keeps-gate-crashing-piquets-reportedly-suing-briatore/http://www.autoblog.com/2010/04/02/crashgate-keeps-gate-crashing-piquets-reportedly-suing-briatore/#commentsFiled under: , ,



You didn't actually think we'd heard the last of Crashgate, did you? The scandal that rocked the Formula One racing world last season and well into the post-season involved the Renault F1 team, its driver Nelson Piquet, Jr. and its top executives Flavio Briatore and Pat Symonds.

For allegedly directing Piquet to crash on purpose during the 2008 Singapore Grand Prix, thereby handing the advantage to teammate Fernando Alonso, Briatore and Symonds were banned - permanently and temporarily, respectively - from the sport. Briatore eventually had the sentence overturned in French courts, and whistleblower/culprit Piquet found nothing but cold shoulders when it came time to find a new race seat.

As part of the ongoing debacle, the Renault team under Briatore's direction issued a statement in September 2009 claiming that Piquet's assertions were entirely fabricated. As a result, according to ESPN, Piquet and his three-time World Champion father are now suing the disavowed Briatore for slander, with punitive damages sought to the tune of £200,000 (about $300k). Considering how many millions the Piquet and Briatore estates must be worth, the six-figure sum seems like a drop in the bucket, but that's still more than we could say for Nelsinho's flash-in-the-pan career in F1 that didn't even last two seasons.

[Source: ESPN]

Crashgate Keeps Gate Crashing: Piquets reportedly suing Briatore for libel originally appeared on Autoblog on Fri, 02 Apr 2010 15:59:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>briatorecrashgatef1flavio briatoreFlavioBriatoreformula 1formula oneFormula1FormulaOnelawsuitlibelnelsinho piquetNelsinhoPiquetnelson piquetnelson piquet jrNelson Piquet Jr.NelsonPiquetNelsonPiquetJrNelsonPiquetJr.piquetrenault f1RenaultF1slanderFri, 02 Apr 2010 15:59:00 EST http://www.autoblog.com/feed/19423116/article-comments.xml http://www.autoblog.com/feed/2010/04/02/crashgate-keeps-gate-crashing-piquets-reportedly-suing-briatore/19423116/article-detail.xml 19423116 http://www.blogcdn.com/www.autoblog.com/media/2010/04/piquet-briatore_thumbnail.jpg http://www.blogcdn.com/www.autoblog.com/media/2010/04/piquet-briatore.jpg <![CDATA[Nelsinho "Crashgate" Piquet confirms move to NASCAR]]>http://www.autoblog.com/2010/01/13/nelsinho-crashgate-piquet-confirms-move-to-nascar/http://www.autoblog.com/2010/01/13/nelsinho-crashgate-piquet-confirms-move-to-nascar/http://www.autoblog.com/2010/01/13/nelsinho-crashgate-piquet-confirms-move-to-nascar/#commentsFiled under: , ,



Crashing is a big deal in Formula One. Especially, as the ongoing legal battle between the FIA and one Flavio Briatore shows, if you've done it on purpose. So Nelson Piquet Jr. couldn't have been all that surprised that, after having done exactly that and then gone on to blow the whistle on his own team, he hasn't found a new ride in F1. So... where does a disenfranchised grand prix driver to go for a fresh start? Where do they love crashing more than anywhere else? Why, NASCAR, of course!

The disgraced Brazilian driver expressed interest in a move to stock car racing last year and went on to test a truck for Red Horse Racing in the fall. He's now slated to test the Camping World Truck Series spec Toyota Tundra again, much like Juan Pablo Montoya and Scott Speed made the jump before him.

Although Piquet hasn't confirmed exactly which series he'll be joining, he has specified that it will be a NASCAR series (meaning Camping World Truck Series, Nationwide Series or Sprint Cup), and that he's fully prepared to start at the ground level and work his way up. So while he may skip the lower levels like ARCA, the smart money's on a truck debut for Piquet: Sources anticipate he could be behind the wheel as early as next month at Daytona.

[Source: NPiquet.com and Autosport | Image: Mark Thompson/Getty]

Nelsinho "Crashgate" Piquet confirms move to NASCAR originally appeared on Autoblog on Wed, 13 Jan 2010 18:01:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>ARCACamping World Truck SeriesCampingWorldTruckSeriesnascarnascar camping world truck seriesNascarCampingWorldTruckSeriesnelsinho piquetNelsinhoPiquetnelson piquetnelson piquet jrNelson Piquet Jr.NelsonPiquetNelsonPiquetJrNelsonPiquetJr.piquetpiquet nascarPiquetNascarWed, 13 Jan 2010 18:01:00 EST http://www.autoblog.com/feed/19315725/article-comments.xml http://www.autoblog.com/feed/2010/01/13/nelsinho-crashgate-piquet-confirms-move-to-nascar/19315725/article-detail.xml 19315725 http://www.blogcdn.com/www.autoblog.com/media/2010/01/piquet-1_thumbnail.jpg http://www.blogcdn.com/www.autoblog.com/media/2010/01/piquet-1.jpg <![CDATA[BREAKING: Flavio Briatore and Pat Symonds leave Renault F1]]>http://www.autoblog.com/2009/09/16/breaking-flavio-briatore-and-pat-symonds-leave-renault-f1/http://www.autoblog.com/2009/09/16/breaking-flavio-briatore-and-pat-symonds-leave-renault-f1/http://www.autoblog.com/2009/09/16/breaking-flavio-briatore-and-pat-symonds-leave-renault-f1/#commentsFiled under: ,



Flavio Briatore might have wished that he had been a little kinder to client and former Renault F1 driver Nelson Piquet. After Piquet was sacked for non-performance following the Hungarian Grand Prix this year, he sought revenge by saying that Briatore and team engineering director Pat Symonds instructed him to crash during last year's Singapore GP. The crash, done correctly, would cause the safety car to come out, and that would give teammate Fernando Alonso the best chance of winning the race.

Piquet crashed, the safety car came out, and Alonso won the race. It's been reported that at least one driver thought the crash was suspect, and Williams' Patrick Head said Piquet confessed to a journalist after the race that he crashed on purpose. Piquet's motivation was to keep his Renault seat for 2009. Not having done that, he's got little left to lose... well, other than his career or the chance that any other team will hire him...

Based on evidence gathered, the FIA called Renault to account for its actions during the Singapore GP to the World Motorsport Council. The team hadn't been found guilty, but leaks indicated that the affair was looking suspect. Perhaps hoping to save the team from suffering over the actions of just two men, Briatore and Symonds have departed in what looks remarkably like a Ron Dennis move after McLaren's Australian GP debacle. Renault's only statement on the matter, before Monday's WSMC meeting, said that "The ING Renault F1 Team will not dispute the recent allegations made by the FIA concerning the 2008 Singapore Grand Prix." For all kinds of reasons, happy and tragic, on the track and off, this has been the most intriguing F1 season in years.

[Source: F1 Live | Image Source: Mark Thompson/Getty]

BREAKING: Flavio Briatore and Pat Symonds leave Renault F1 originally appeared on Autoblog on Wed, 16 Sep 2009 10:15:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Nelsinho Piquet at the 2008 Singapore Grand Prix

The FIA is always sticking its nose around, sniffing around for some trouble. So, when the motorsport governing body opened a new investigation into the Renault F1 team, frankly we weren't all that surprised or interested. The probe centered around claims that the team instructed its since-departed driver Nelson Piquet, Jr. to crash on purpose at the Singapore Grand Prix last year in order to help his wing-man Fernando Alonso win the race.

Now, however, the probe appears to be deepening as the FIA claims to have discovered "other issues above and beyond Singapore" during their investigation into Renault's alleged wrongdoing. In a recurrence of the "Stepney-gate" investigations held during his brief but highly controversial tenure at McLaren, Alonso was reportedly questioned at length by the FIA's lawyers, along with technical chief Pat Symonds and team principal Flavio Briatore, to name just a few of the most prominent team figures implicated.

The team is naturally denying any wrongdoing, and tellingly, several individuals who've since left the team, including former engine chief Denis Chevrier and former test driver Franck Montagny, have expressed serious doubt that Renault was up to any underhanded business. For our part, we have a feeling this isn't the last we've heard over what we'll tentatively refer to as "Renault-gate."

[Source: F1-Live]

FIA digging for dirt in Renault F1 investigation originally appeared on Autoblog on Fri, 04 Sep 2009 17:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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From left to right: Fernando Alonso, Flavio Briatore, Romain Grosjean and Nelsinho Piquet launch the 2009 Renault R29
Click above for high-res image gallery

Typically, most of the drivers who start a Fomula One season are the ones who carry it through to the end. But this has turned out to be anything but a normal season, with erstwhile backmarkers winning races and a big game of musical chairs ensuing. Toro Rosso has already switched out Sebastien Bourdais for Jaime Alguersuari, Ferrari was set to bring Michael Schumacher back from retirement but ended up having to deputize test driver Luca Badoer instead, and now Renault has followed suit by axing Nelson Piquet, Jr. and replacing him with its test driver, Romain Grosjean.

The move started last week when Renault announced Piquet's departure. The son of three-time world champion Nelson Piquet, Sr., Nelsinho (as he's known) moved up to F1 after two seasons in the GP2 feeder series also run by Renault team principal Flavio Briatore. Aside from a solitary, though impressive, second-place finish in Germany, the young Brazilian failed to finish nine races last year, and had yet to score a single point this season. Piquet's termination prompted him to launch a series of tirades against Briatore, whom he characterized as an ignorant executioner.

Piquet's replacement, Romain Grosjean, won both the Formula Three Euroseries and the GP2 Asia championships before moving up to the main GP2 series, where he placed fourth last year and is currently runner-up in the standings, in addition to his role as Renault's official test driver. Renault is waiting to see if he and teammate Fernando Alonso will start the upcoming European Grand Prix, pending their appeal of a penalty given at the last race in Hungary for an improperly secured wheel. Confirmation of Grosjean's promotion pends a successful appeal.


Gallery: 2009 Renault R29 F1


[Source: Autosport]

More Musical Chairs: Renault F1 replaces Piquet with Grosjean pending FIA penalty appeal originally appeared on Autoblog on Sun, 16 Aug 2009 16:32:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Click above for the video of Nelson Piquet Jr. putting F1 on ice

Nelson Piquet Jr., Renault's other driver, recently took a Renault R28 F1 car out for a spin in the snows of Ski Dubai. We're not sure if it's the same chassis that Ben Sulayem crashed at another event in Dubai, but if it is the Renault mechanics earned their money. One thing is certain, though: Ben Sulayem is a very good driver, but the fact that he crashed the car on a dry track while Nelsinho keeps it under control doing donuts in the snow shows you just good the average F1 driver is. Follow the jump to watch the vid.

[Source: YouTube]

Continue reading VIDEO: Piquet Jr. does donuts in his Renault F1 car... at Ski Dubai

VIDEO: Piquet Jr. does donuts in his Renault F1 car... at Ski Dubai originally appeared on Autoblog on Fri, 17 Apr 2009 13:27:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Click on either image to view the new Renault R29 in high resolution

Wow. After seeing a few of this year's Formula One cars unveiled already, we really didn't think that the cars could get much uglier. We were wrong. Enter Renault with its latest R29, decked out in yellow and orange. And white. And red. And blue. Throw in some green and we'd be back at the Benetton team that preceded it.

Of course, it could hardly matter less what the car looks like, so long as it keeps the pace with its field-leading rivals. And in the last half of this past season, Renault showed that it could. But with all the new regulations in place, it's a whole new ballgame, and who's to know if the French team - returning to the grid with Fernando Alonso and Nelson Piquet, Jr. - will be able to ride back up the field to the championship-contending potential it demonstrated just a few years ago with back-to-back titles. We'll just have to wait and see.

Gallery: 2009 Renault R29 F1


[Source: Renault F1]

Congeniality Award? Renault launches new R29 originally appeared on Autoblog on Tue, 20 Jan 2009 19:01:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>fernando alonsoFernandoAlonsonelsinho piquetNelsinhoPiquetnelson piquetNelsonPiquetrenaultrenault f1renault r29renault sportRenaultF1RenaultR29RenaultSportTue, 20 Jan 2009 19:01:00 EST http://www.autoblog.com/feed/1433629/article-comments.xml http://www.autoblog.com/feed/2009/01/20/congeniality-award-renault-launches-new-r29/1433629/article-detail.xml 1433629 http://www.blogcdn.com/www.autoblog.com/media/2009/01/r29-web_thumbnail.jpg http://www.blogcdn.com/www.autoblog.com/media/2009/01/r29-web.jpg <![CDATA[F1 champ Nelson Piquet loses drivers license]]>http://www.autoblog.com/2007/08/02/f1-champ-nelson-piquet-loses-drivers-license/http://www.autoblog.com/2007/08/02/f1-champ-nelson-piquet-loses-drivers-license/http://www.autoblog.com/2007/08/02/f1-champ-nelson-piquet-loses-drivers-license/#commentsFiled under: , ,

The question of the day is, "If you're tasked with teaching a three-time Formula One champ to drive, what's the curriculum?" Some instructor in Brazil will be forced to answer that very query when he gets Nelson Piquet behind the wheel for a refresher on the rules of the road.

Piquet, who's racked up quite a collection of speeding offenses and parking tickets, is being forced by a Brazilian judge to go back to school for 30 hours over the course of eight days, after which he'll be required to re-take the driving test.

The 54-year old F1 wiz seemed rather jovial when asked to comment on the matter, simply saying that, "I think we have to pay for our mistakes." We're more than interested to see how it turns out, and we'd expect his instructor to come away with a host of intriguing stories and maybe a few new skills of his own.

[Source: Yahoo! News]

F1 champ Nelson Piquet loses drivers license originally appeared on Autoblog on Thu, 02 Aug 2007 07:34:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>driver educationdriver trainingDriverEducationDriverTrainingf1formula 1formula oneFormula1FormulaOnenelson piquetNelsonPiquetparkingspeedingticketsThu, 02 Aug 2007 07:34:00 EST http://www.autoblog.com/feed/955497/article-comments.xml http://www.autoblog.com/feed/2007/08/02/f1-champ-nelson-piquet-loses-drivers-license/955497/article-detail.xml 955497 http://www.blogcdn.com/www.autoblog.com/media/2007/08/piq1_thumbnail.jpg http://www.blogcdn.com/www.autoblog.com/media/2007/08/piq1.jpg <![CDATA[Piquet name returns to Formula 1]]>http://www.autoblog.com/2006/08/21/piquet-name-returns-to-formula-1/http://www.autoblog.com/2006/08/21/piquet-name-returns-to-formula-1/http://www.autoblog.com/2006/08/21/piquet-name-returns-to-formula-1/#commentsFiled under: ,

Rumor has it that Brazilian Nelson Piquet Jr. has signed with Renault F1 to be the team's third driver in 2007. Together with McLaren protege Lewis Hamilton, Piquet Jr. has dominated this year's GP2 championship, and a move to Formula 1 has been expected since 2005, when he tested for Williams F1.

"Nelsinho" is the son of three-time world champion Nelson Piquet, who retired from Formula 1 in 1991. Interestingly, Piquet Sr.'s first world championship came with the Brabham team, then managed by none other than Bernie Ecclestone.

The rumor suggests that current third driver Heikki Kovaleinen will be promoted to race alongside Giancarlo Fisichella in 2007, after the departure of world champion Fernando Alonso for more lucrative pastures at McLaren. And this in turn suggests that Kimi Raikkonen will either stay at McLaren to race alongside Alonso, or move to Ferrari, possibly partnering with Michael Schumacher.

[Source: Le Blog Auto]

Piquet name returns to Formula 1 originally appeared on Autoblog on Mon, 21 Aug 2006 17:02:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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