Warwick hits out at 'sour' Piquet

Piquet, who raced against Warwick in the 1980s, branded the series as "rubbish" and claimed he would never take part in it.

"That's a series for people with no money who are hoping to gain it back somehow," Piquet, who at 53 is eligible to race in the series, said in February.

Warwick, preparing for this weekend's season Masters race in Qatar, was angered by Piquet's comments.

"Nelson Piquet - he's sour - he's been sour and always has been all of his life," Warwick told autosport.com. "I just think he's sad. He's lonely and insecure and not happy with his lot. After winning so much I'm surprised he doesn't have a such competitive instinct in him any more.

"He should spend more time worry about what he's not doing rather than what we are doing. GP Masters is different. We're not looking over shoulders to see if someone like  Nico Rosberg is trying to pinch our drive.

"We've all had careers and we're either happy or not happy. If Piquet is sad it is because he's envious and he should just get on with it and not hide behind a wall of words.

"He went on about finance and said that we can't earn money anywhere else. Frankly I would have paid Scott [Poulter] the amount I'm getting paid for this to have the opportunity to drive these cars.

"I'm not doing it for money. All of a sudden I get to drive a GP car at 51 years of age. Being competitive your entire life all you know is to go fast.

"You ask yourself if you are going to be fast enough, are you going to keep your foot in but after the first test I answered all those questions with a tick and a smile."