Former Formula 1 driver Nelson Piquet Jr returned to single seat cars last week when testing for China Racing in the latest Formula E pre-season test. Piquet, 28, is currently competing in the Global Rallycross Championship, which he is leading. China Racing recently tested with Belgium born driver Jerome d’Ambrosio before he signed with rivals Dragon Racing. China racing is the only team yet to confirm any drivers for the inaugural Formula E season.
“It’s going to be good to get back in a single-seater and I’m really interested in the Formula E concept and technology and what the car is going to be like,” said Piquet.
“It’s a pretty crazy week for me as last weekend I was racing in New York, this weekend I’m racing in North Carolina and I’m doing this UK test in between, but I was really excited to have the chance to test the Formula E car.
“It’s been a while since I’ve driven at Donington but it was a track I loved back in F3 days.”
A film released on the internet shows Piquet practising changing cars in a pit stop as is required by the sports regulations with the team also announcing earlier this month that it will be run by Campos Racing who currently run many teams in feeder series such as GP2 and also originally entered a F1 team in 2010 which later got taken over by the Hispania Racing Team which appears to be enticing Piquet into the series. All we wait for now, is for confirmation.
Piquet is perhaps best known as the son of three-time Formula one world champion Nelson Piquet, he was signed as test driver for the Renault Formula one team for the 2007 season, and was promoted to the race team for 2008, before being dropped midway through the 2009 season. After losing his drive, it emerged that he had, under instruction from senior members of the team, crashed deliberately at the 2008 Singapore Grand Prix to help his team mate, Fernando Alonso, win the race; the resulting scandal became one of the most significant in the sport’s history.
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