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Published: Saturday October 17, 2009 MYT 9:47:00 AM

Piquet pitching F1 work for son

SAO PAULO (AP): Three-time Formula One champion Nelson Piquet is working to get his son back on the circuit.

Piquet, who retired from F1 after the 1991 season, is at the Brazilian Grand Prix talking to old contacts for Nelson Piquet Jr., who was fired by Renault in August for his role in the race-fixing scandal.

Piquet Jr. last month told the World Motor Sports Council, F1's governing body, that he was ordered by team officials to crash at last year's Singapore Grand Prix to help teammate Fernando Alonso win. Piquet was given immunity in exchange for his account of the incident.

Piquet, who drove for McLaren, Williams and Lotus among others, told Globo television network he was "reconnecting with friends and looking for work for Nelson." He offered no details on who he was speaking with.

Piquet Jr., meanwhile, was in the U.S. on Monday taking part in a test for NASCAR's truck series.

Piquet Jr. said he planned to use the test "to evaluate a future career among the NASCAR ranks."

> PAYING HOMAGE: World champion Lewis Hamilton said he finally had the chance to realize one of his dreams: To visit the grave of F1 great Ayrton Senna, who died in a 1994 crash at the San Marino Grand Prix. Hamilton said on Friday he visited Senna's grave in the Morumbi neighborhood of Sao Paulo this week.

"I always was a fan of Ayrton Senna and he always inspired me a lot," Hamilton told reporters at a Thursday press conference. "I can feel his presence when I'm here."

Hamilton had wanted to visit Senna's grave before, but the spotlight - and crowds of fans and reporters - had always been on him in Brazil because he had been in contention for the title.

This year, with no chance of retaining the title, he decided he could visit Senna's grave in a quiet, respectful manner that wouldn't draw crowds.

Hamilton has said Senna was his biggest racing influence and that he had collected books and videos about the Brazilian's career since he was a kid.

In 2007 during his first F1 race in Brazil, Hamilton said: "Knowing that my hotel is only a couple of miles from where he is and realizing that this is the closest I have ever been to him is quite an unusual experience."

> RUMORS ON RAIKKONEN: Rumors persist that Kimi Raikkonen - ousted from Ferrari's team - could join Red Bull's squad next year.

"Kimi's trying to find a drive and Red Bull, of course, would be a perfect fit for him," said Red Bull driver Mark Webber, who would be replaced by Raikkonen. "But unfortunately, there's two drivers already."

Webber is under contract with Red Bull for the 2010 season, but even he acknowledges things can quickly change in F1 racing.

"I'm confident that the contracts have been sorted out and if things move around, then they do," he said. "It's normal there's a bit of fun and games in Formula One."

> SENNA BACK ON SCENE?: Bruno Senna - nephew of the late Ayrton Senna - said he was talking to three teams about returning in 2010.

Bruno said he was in talks with Campos - a Spanish team that will debut next year - along with two others and believed his chances of competing next year were "very good."

Senna denied reports circulating in the Spanish press that he had already inked a deal with Campos.

"I've not signed anything with any team, but I'm negotiating with Campos and with two others in Formula One," he told the O Globo newspaper. "I'm hoping for good surprises in the coming months."

> KOBAYASHI'S KICKOFF: Japan's Kamui Kobayashi is getting his first official spot in a F1 race, climbing into a team Toyota car to replace driver Timo Glock, who broke a vertebra during a qualifying crash at Suzuka.

The 23-year-old Kobayashi's first practice runs were cautious _ his fastest lap in the first session left him 18th among the 20 drivers, while the second test run saw him improve to 13th at Interlagos.

"It was a nice experience to be starting a weekend as a Grand Prix driver for the first time," Kobayashi said. "I found that the track is good fun for a driver and also very challenging."

Toyota is thought to be looking for a full-time Japanese driver, and if Kobayashi performs well in Brazil - and if Glock is still not fit enough to race in the season finale at Abu Dhabi - he might earn that seat next year.

> RACING TO THE RACE: The cars on the track won't be the only thing speeding at Brazil's Grand Prix on Sunday.

Officials expect hundreds of wealthy fans to arrive by helicopter, with some 45 landings expected each hour at Interlagos' helipad.

Sao Paulo, South America's largest city with more than 20 million people, has one of the largest private helicopter fleets in the world, largely in response to the city's horrendous traffic jams.

That traffic hits hellish peaks when major events come to town, and none is bigger than the annual F1 race.

Jorge Bitar Neto, owner of an air taxi business, is charged with coordinating the incoming traffic at Interlagos. He said helicopters will be shuttling fans from various points of the city to the racetrack this weekend - at a cost of about $1,000 a ride for each person.

"People prefer (the helicopters) because of the slow traffic," Neto told the O Globo newspaper. "The helicopter today in Sao Paulo is no longer a luxury, it's a necessity."

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