Brazilian driver Nelson Piquet plans to race in North America's NASCAR series this year after leaving Formula One under a cloud of controversy.

"I have spent the last few months carefully evaluating my options for this year," he said.

"I had to choose a path and it was a difficult decision to make. Being successful in Formula One was always my goal but I have learnt that happiness is just as important as ambition and after my first 18 months in F1 did not go as planned I have decided to focus on something different."

Piquet, 24, triggered one of F1's biggest scandals after being dropped by Renault in July when he told the sport's governing body he had crashed deliberately in the 2008 Singapore GP to help team-mate Fernando Alonso win.

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