Piquet Sports deny buyout

November 25th 2005, 02:49 GMT


GP2 team Piquet Sports have denied reports that they are about to be bought out, and have reaffirmed their commitment to the GP2 series.

Trevor Carlin, who already runs cars in British F3, the World Series by Renault and A1 GP, failed in recent attempts to join the GP2 grid with a new team. However, he was still looking at joining the series by buying another team's entry.

In a statement, Piquet Sports' team principal Felipe Vargas said: "Piquet Sports has committed to the GP2 Series until the end of 2007 and the team is fully concentrated on getting the best possible results in the 2006 season and beyond.

"I have no idea where these stories (regarding the possible buy out of Piquet Sports by Carlin Motorsport) have come from but they are categorically not true, and contrary to reports, no discussions with Carlin have taken place. We are working very hard to improve our performance for next year and are in the process of recruiting additional personnel to strengthen the team. We want to win the championship in 2006 and are making every effort to see that we can realise this ambition."

(c)

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What the hell?!
First, even if Piquet Sports parted with Hitech and decided that they're able to exist without them, it doesn't mean they're in some kind of a crisis and they don't need to be bought out!

oh...come on, that's not serious!!! Carlin has enough money to create a team, not buy it, and if he wants to BUY the Team, there're others..
I can imagine how furious Piquet Snr was when he heard this offer, and I'm sure, he wasn't happy...

agrh, I'm just outraged!!
Just hate the fact that some rich people can just go and BUY what other people made with their own hands, and put their soul into this..is it considered to be the easiest way to get to racing series? ...of course it is..

it's like in F1, with Eddie Jordan, Paul Stoddart and many others

Nelson Piquet is a clever guy - it's OK, he has money and everything, and the Team, and it's HIS business and hands.off.this.team!!

Now, if they're committed to GP2 till the end of 2007 (it's another question, btw), what would they do next?...
sell the team? or just dismiss it? or continue racing?...or come to F1???!!!!

I don't think we should worry, as long as Nelsinho is racing in GP2 - this will be his team. He created it, and it will only become redundant when he gets a steady job in F1. I'm sure this is just an off-seson gossip

I'm not worrying about Nelsinho, it's just the fact with the whole "buyout" thing....that I hate

I guess Piquet Sports are vulnerable to the rumours like this one, because of their recent split with HiTech... Fingers crossed the team stays as it is and Nelsihno will have comfortable and familiar enviroment around him hext season

oh yes, the environment means a lot!
I would fire some people in the team, if I were the boss, but in general the atmosphere is good

next year he should go for the title...

Update on the situation:

Piquet Sports not for sale

By David Cameron December 1st 2005, 14:03 GMT


Piquet Sports lead driver Nelson Piquet Jr and team principal Felipe Vargas have both rubbished rumours that the team were about to be sold to former Jordan sporting director Trevor Carlin, stating that the team are not for sale to anyone.

Recent reports have linked Carlin with a buyout of Piquet Sports after failing in his own bid to become the thirteenth team in GP2 when Trident Racing were handed the spot, but the Brazilians were adamant that their team have a long-term future.

When asked whether any negotiations had taken place with Carlin, Piquet told autosport.com: "No, no - I don't know if Trevor has said anything in the press, but we never got a phone call, and we never wanted to do that.

"We haven't spoken to him since Formula Three, so I don't know where this came from."

Vargas expanded on his driver's comments, noting: "There has been nothing, no negotiations, and I don't know where these rumours came from. We are concentrating fully on doing a strong championship next year, and not thinking about stopping – we have a long term commitment."

Asked for his thought on the origins of the rumour, Vargas was baffled: "I don't know! I was very surprised, and I have no idea where it has come from. I can understand rumours of Nelson going to ART, but not that we are selling the team.

"But we are putting a lot of effort in to improve next year – we are trying to concentrate on learning as much as we can over the winter tests, and we are also trying to get more staff to work with us.

"We will focus on the areas where we were weaker last year, and we'll probably work with more mechanics and engineers than last year."

Piquet has been racing with the Brazilian A1 GP team in the off season, and the team are run by ART's parent company ASM, with whom the driver has enjoyed a strong relationship.

However, the Brazilian feels that this relationship has been misinterpreted by journalists in the A1 paddock: "Of course – it is full of stupid journalists there talking crap all day because they have nothing to do, so that's what they do.

"But they have two signed drivers for next year – [Alex] Premat and Lewis [Hamilton] – so there is zero chance of me going there next year. I'm going to work as hard as I can here, and do my best to win."

With both Piquet and teammate Xandi Negrao re-signing to Piquet Sports, Vargas felt that his team will have a big advantage over the competition, as most of the other teams have a partial or complete driver line-up change.

"I think consistency is really good. A team is a continuous development and learning process for everyone – for the drivers and for the team – and the stronger the relationship between everyone, the better I think. It will definitely be an advantage for us next year."

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Hang on!!! Did ART actually sign Lewis Hamilton already??? Thanks for update, Nelsinho!!!

I'm scared to think what's he gonna be like when he's in F1 if he's saying this now )))) can't wait