Campos Meta F1 boss Daniele Audetto has drawn a line under speculation linking disgraced former Renault driver Nelson Piquet Jr with the new team, saying that he was not in the team's plans despite them having "nothing against" him.
Although the bulk of recent rumours linking the Brazilian with the team came from a hoax story published on the Motor21.com website to celebrate the Spanish version of April Fool's Day, the Italian newspaper La Stampa has reported that the driver has been in contact with the team.
According to La Stampa, Bernie Ecclestone has been pushing for the deal with his former Brabham driver Nelson Piquet Sr.
But Audetto has confirmed that the Campos team are not interested in a deal with the Brazilian, who has been out of a drive since parting company with the Renault team last summer, shortly before blowing the lid off the Fixgate scandal.
He was quick to say that Piquet's part in the Fixgate scandal wasn't the reason they had turned Piquet away, but rather that they had already signed one Brazilian driver, Bruno Senna, and wanted a different nationality in the second car.
Talking about the situation, Audetto said that: "In fact we received an offer from Piquet."
He went on: "We have nothing again Nelsinho, even though he was involved in the accident scandal. He is a good driver, fast and experienced.
"But, having signed Bruno Senna, we cannot have two Brazilians. And the supposed 15 per cent investment would be less than what other drivers could bring; Italian, Russian, Chinese, German, to name a few nationalities.
"There are ongoing negotiations that will go on until all the details are defined."
GP2 drivers Vitaly Petrov and Pastor Maldonado are believed to be the frontrunners for the second seat with the team next year.
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