Nelson Piquet is a Brazilian retired racing driver and businessman. He is a three-time World Champion and is considered one of the greatest Formula One (F1) drivers. After his retirement from racing in 1992, he became a businessman and runs several business ventures, mostly based in Brazil. 

He also manages his sons Nelson Jr. and Pedro who are professional racing drivers.

What is Nelson Piquet Famous For?

• Three-time Formula One World Champion racing driver. 

Where is Nelson Piquet From?

Nelson Piquet was born on 17 August 1952. His birth name is Nelson Piquet Souto Maior. His birth place is in Rio de Janeiro in Brazil. He holds Brazilian nationality. He was born to his father, Estacio Goncalves Souto Maior, and his mother, Clotilde Piquet. He has three siblings, Alexis, Geraldo, and Genusa. 

He studied engineering for two years but dropped out of the University in 1974. 

Source: @MotorSport

Nelson Piquet Career

• Nelson Piquet started playing tennis at the early age of 11. 
• His father wanted him to be a professional tennis player. 
• He won local junior tournaments in Brazil. 
• He then traveled to the United States to test his skills.
• He had received a scholarship at a school in Atlanta. 
• However, he lost interest in tennis and left it.
• He worked in the garage to support himself. 
• He had developed an interest in moto racing. 
• He started kart racing at the age of 14. 
• He initially used his mother's maiden name Piquet to hide his identity. His father disapproved of his racing career. 
• He returned to Brazil and started kart racing. 
• He became the Brazilian national karting champion in 1971 and 1972.
• He won the Formula Vee championship in 1976. 
• He then decided to move to Europe to explore a moto racing career upon Emerson Fittipaldi's advice. 
• He became successful in Formula 3 in the 1978 season, when he broke Jackie Stewart's record of the most wins in a season. 
• He made his Formula One debut for Ensign in Germany in 1978. He had to retire on lap 31 with a broken engine. 
• He then briefly raced for McLaren of BS Fabrications. 
• He raced for Brabham from 1978 to 1985. 
• In the 1979 season, he retired from eleven of fifteen races.
• He finished runner-up behind champion Alan Jones in the 1980 season. 

Source: @JCSpeedway2

• He won the first Formula One Championship of his career in 1981. 
• His 1982 season was severely hampered by engine unreliability after Brabham's alliance with BMW for turbocharged engines. 
• He won his second Formula One Championship in 1983. It was BMW's first and only championship in Formula One. 
• He managed to finish 5th in 1984.
• Due to financial reasons (low salary paid by Brabham), he decided to leave Brabham after seven seasons and two world championships. 
• He signed with Williams in 1986 with a contract worth three times that of his contract at Brabham. 
• He became teammates with his former rival, Nigel Mansell but their relationship remained sour within the team and the racecourse.
• He was likely to win the world championship in his first season at Williams in 1986. However, he failed in the final round in Australia. 
• He went on to win his third and final world championship in 1987. 
• He became the number one driver in the world.
• He signed with Lotus to start the 1988 season. 
• However, he failed to continue his successful campaign with the new team. He went winless but only managed three 3rd place finishes in the season.
• He suffered an even more disastrous season in 1989. He failed to qualify for the 1989 Belgian Grand Prix, his first non-disqualification since the 1982 Detroit Grand Prix. 
• He left Lotus to sign with Benetton in 1990.

Source: @Twitter

• He managed to win three races during the season.
• The last win of his Formula One career came at Montreal in 1991. 
• After the 1991 season, he announced his retirement in January 1992.  
• Following his retirement from Formula One, he tried his hand at the Indianapolis 500 for two years. 
• He became more involved in his business ventures. 
• He also manages his sons' professional racing career.
• He founded Autotrac in 1994. His company provides mobile data messaging and tracking of customers' truck by satellite (GPS tracking). 
• He founded the racing team, Piquet Sports in 2000. 
• He also runs Brazil-based several business ventures that are not related to motorsports. 
• In 2022, Piquet dragged controversy for the comment he made during a 2021 interview on a Brazilian podcast. 
• He used the racially pejorative Portuguese term "neguinho" when discussing an incident between Lewis Hamilton and Max Verstappen at the 2021 British Grand Prix.
• The comments resurfaced on social media in 2022. 
• The British Racing Drivers' Club suspended Piquet as its honorary member. 
• He later apologized for his remarks and stated that the comments were not intended to be racist. 

Source: @SFCriga

Who is Nelson Piquet Wife?

Nelson Piquet first married Maria Clara in 1976. They share a son Gerlado Piquet. Their marriage lasted for just one year. He then married Sylvia Tamsma. They share three children, Nelson Piquet Jr., Kelly, and Julia. While temporarily separated from Sylvia, he dated Katerine Valentine, with whom he shares a son, Laszlo. He married Vivianne de Souza Leao. They share two son, Pedro Estacio and Marco. 

Source: @NewsUnzip

What is Nelson Piquet Height?

Nelson Piquet stands at the height of 1.73 m i.e. 5 feet and 8 inches tall. He has a body weight of around 70 kg. He has an average body build. His eye color is dark brown and his hair color is black. 

His sexual orientation is straight. 

What is Nelson Piquet Net Worth?

Nelson Piquet is a former racing driver who is considered one of the greatest Formula One drivers in the world. A three-time world champion made his fortune from his racing career. After retirement, he started several business ventures that added to his fortune. His net worth is estimated at around $200 million.