Planet-F1

Piquet: I got lucky

Sunday 20th July 2008

Nelson Piquet Jr admits he had luck on his side during his second-place finish at the German Grand Prix.

The Brazilian has been under pressure to perform after a poor start to his Formula One career.

His team-mate Fernando Alonso played down his chances of picking up points at Hockenheim, saying "I will do my best and Nelsinho will do his best, but today it will be difficult for him to score any points."

However, Piquet answered the double World Champion, who had to settle for a lowly 11th in Germany, in the best possible manner.

The Brazilian admitted the introduction of the Safety Car on lap 35 played right into his hands.

"I got quite lucky, but I was on the perfect strategy and the team called me in at the right time," he said.

"I knew I was leading the race at one point, but Lewis (Hamilton) was much quicker than me and I decided to make it a safe second place rather than a third or fourth."