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How Indy 'pulverised' an F1 champion

Nelson Piquet's feet were "pulverised" when he hit the wall during practice for the 1992 Indy 500, effectively ending his career. As Fernando Alonso gears up for his own assault on the Indy crown, Autosport considers a lesson from history...

Even today, 25 years on, Nelson Piquet walks with a pronounced and pained shuffle, the legacy of the enormous crash that brought his top-level racing career to a definitive halt.

He'd been persuaded to enter the 1992 Indianapolis 500 for a substantial fee; the tragic irony is that he fell in love with the challenge of the Brickyard, felt denied by wrecking his Lola-Buick (and his feet) during practice, and longed to have another crack at winning the race. But there would be no fairytale return for the three-time Formula 1 world champion.

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