15/03/2010
NEWS STORY
Among the galaxy of F1 stars on hand for Formula One's 60th anniversary celebration at the weekend, there was one notable exception, three-time champion Nelson Piquet.
As 18 champions assembled for an iconic group photo on Sunday morning, ahead of the season opener, there was one noticeable absence, the driver who won two titles with Brabham and one with Williams, Nelson Piquet.
Perhaps the Brazilian legend isn't into nostalgia or maybe he simply didn't see the point of lining up for a group shot of champions that included Michelle Yeoh, whose presence baffled David Coulthard also. Or maybe it is the fact that the after affects of 'Crashgate', which saw his son deliberately crash out of the 2008 Singapore Grand Prix, are still reverberating throughout the sport.
On a weekend which saw former Lotus champions Mario Andretti and Emerson Fittipaldi being warmly greeted by the team that has brought the legendary name back to the grid, Piquet, who spent two seasons with the British team, would surely have been made welcome.
Furthermore, the owner of the team with which he won two of his titles, Brabham, would surely have been able to find the relevant passes, as long as he didn't want to bring his physio.
Then again, perhaps Nelson, like so many of us, doesn't understand why the celebrations took place in Bahrain - a feature of the F1 calendar since 2004 - in the first place when the actual 60th anniversary occurs in May and the first ever round of the Formula One World Championship took place at Silverstone.