Nelson Piquet

Nelson Piquet Souto Maior is one of only eight acclaimed drivers to have three World Championship titles to their credit. He won the Drivers’ crown in 1981 and 1983 for Brabham and then sealed his third win in 1987 for Williams.

Piquet started his F1 career with the Brabham racing outfit in 1978. The next year, after securing three wins and following the retirement of his teammate Niki Lauda, he was hailed as a clear number one driver and it wasn’t before long that he acquired his first world title. Two years later, amidst Brabham’s experiments with engines, Piquet became the first driver to win a world title with a turbo-charged engine in 1983.

The career of this passionate Brazilian was highlighted with 60 podium places, 23 wins and 24 pole positions besides his three world titles. Another highlight was is his rivalry with his very first Williams teammate, Nigel Mansell.  Engrossed in their personal battle, the two men lost sight of the larger picture and missed out on their world championship bid in 1986. Piquet made up by getting the title in the next season (1987) despite winning fewer races than Mansell. After signing up with Lotus in 1988, his career plummeted until he resurrected it through a pay-by-performance pact with Benetton in the early nineties.

Piquet retired from the sport in 1991 with a win at the Canadian Grand Prix but even after leaving F1, he could not keep away from his love for racing and competed in the Champ Car World Series for Team Menard. However, an unfortunate crash during the qualifiers gave him massive lower limb injuries, almost ending his career. But he recovered and came back on the track again to race in the following season.

Known to be a playboy and a brash talker, Piquet has had his share of practical jokes. But he is undoubtedly one of the most magnanimous personalities in F1 history. He not only contributed to the popularity of the sport with his speed and talent but also gave evolutionary and scientific inputs towards the development of the car.

The three-time World Champ added to his F1 contributions by introducing his son Nelson Ângelo Piquet the cockpit of a racing car. Nelsinho Piquet grew up to made his debut in the 2008 Formula One season alongside two-time World Champion Fernando Alonso at Renault. Despite having several businesses to handle, senior Piquet spends a bulk of his time managing his son’s F1 career, hoping that his heir will indeed keep the Piquet legacy burning bright.