Drivers/Brazil
Nelson Piquet
- 3× World Champion
- 1978–1991
- PIQ
- Born 17 August 1952 in Rio de Janeiro
- Nelson Piquet Souto Maior
Family in Formula 1: Nelson Piquet Jr. (child)
- Starts203207 entries
- Wins2311% of starts
- Podiums6030% of starts
- Pole positions2424× started from P1
- Fastest laps23
- Grand Slams3pole, win, fastest lap, every lap led
- Titles31981, 1983, 1987
Career numbers
- Avg grid position6.7
- Avg finish4.2
- Retirement rate39%
- Pole-to-win conversion21%
- Positions gained+235
- Points scored485.5
- Longest winning streak2
- Longest podium streak9
- Longest points-scoring streak11
- TeamsEnsign (1978) · McLaren (1978) · Brabham (1978–1985) · Williams (1986–1987) · Lotus (1988–1989) · Benetton (1990–1991)
Pole position means the fastest time in qualifying. That is not the same as a start from P1 – grid penalties move a driver down the grid. Up to the 2000s the two numbers coincide.
The career at a glance
Season by season
| Season | Team | Races | Wins | Podiums | Points | Championship |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1978 | Ensign, McLaren, Brabham | 5 | 0 | – | ||
| 1979 | Brabham | 15 | 3 | P15 | ||
| 1980 | Brabham | 14 | 3 | 6 | 54 | P2 |
| 1981 | Brabham | 15 | 3 | 7 | 50 | P1 |
| 1982 | Brabham | 14 | 1 | 2 | 20 | P11 |
| 1983 | Brabham | 15 | 3 | 8 | 59 | P1 |
| 1984 | Brabham | 16 | 2 | 4 | 29 | P5 |
| 1985 | Brabham | 15 | 1 | 2 | 21 | P8 |
| 1986 | Williams | 16 | 4 | 10 | 69 | P3 |
| 1987 | Williams | 15 | 3 | 11 | 73 | P1 |
| 1988 | Lotus | 16 | 3 | 22 | P6 | |
| 1989 | Lotus | 15 | 12 | P8 | ||
| 1990 | Benetton | 16 | 2 | 4 | 43 | P3 |
| 1991 | Benetton | 16 | 1 | 3 | 26.5 | P6 |
Every race
207 entries, 203 of them started. DNQ: did not qualify; DNS: did not start; DNF: retired.
- First entryGerman Grand Prix 1978DNF · Ensign
- First winUnited States Grand Prix West 1980P1 · Brabham
- Last winCanadian Grand Prix 1991P1 · Benetton
- Last startAustralian Grand Prix 1991P4 · Benetton
All 207 races, season by season
Against team-mates
Same car, same races. In the race only those where both reached the finish count – a retirement says nothing about the head-to-head.
| Team-mate | Years | Races | Qualifying | Quali gap | Points | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nigel Mansell | 1986–1987 | 8:10 | 12:17 | +0.07% | 145 : 124 | Compare |
| Riccardo Patrese | 1982–1987 | 4:2 | 20:10 | −0.40% | 79 : 34 | Compare |
| Satoru Nakajima | 1988–1989 | 6:1 | 24:3 | −1.28% | 31 : 4 | Compare |
| Héctor Rebaque | 1980–1981 | 6:0 | 21:0 | −1.65% | 79 : 12 | Compare |
| Alessandro Nannini | 1990 | 5:3 | 9:5 | −0.43% | 26 : 21 | Compare |
| Marc Surer | 1985 | 6:0 | 10:1 | −1.82% | 21 : 5 | Compare |
| Roberto Moreno | 1990–1991 | 4:0 | 10:3 | −0.39% | 40 : 14 | Compare |
| Niki Lauda | 1978–1979 | 0:1 | 6:8 | +0.22% | 3 : 4 | Compare |
| Teo Fabi | 1984 | 2:0 | 12:0 | −2.76% | 19 : 9 | Compare |
| Ricardo Zunino | 1979–1980 | 2:0 | 8:0 | −2.39% | 21 : 0 | Compare |
| Michael Schumacher | 1991 | 1:2 | 1:4 | +0.26% | 4.5 : 4 | Compare |
| Patrick Tambay | 1978 | 0:1 | 0:3 | +1.57% | 0 : 2 | Compare |
| James Hunt | 1978 | 0:0 | 0:3 | +2.07% | 0 : 0 | Compare |
| Brett Lunger | 1978 | 0:0 | 0:3 | +0.54% | 0 : 0 | Compare |
| François Hesnault | 1985 | 0:0 | 3:0 | −3.55% | 0 : 0 | Compare |
| Corrado Fabi | 1984 | 0:0 | 2:1 | −1.61% | 9 : 0 | Compare |
| Bruno Giacomelli | 1978 | 1:0 | 0:2 | – | 0 : 0 | Compare |
| Manfred Winkelhock | 1984 | 1:0 | 1:0 | – | 1 : 0 | Compare |
| John Watson | 1978 | 0:0 | 0:1 | – | 0 : 0 | Compare |
| Harald Ertl | 1978 | 0:0 | 1:0 | – | 0 : 0 | Compare |
Green: Nelson Piquet came out ahead in that duel. Quali gap: the median difference in the last session both set a time in, as a share of the lap – minus is faster. At least three sessions; a dash where there were fewer.
Strongest circuits
Circuits with at least two starts, most wins first.
| Circuit | Starts | Wins | Podiums | Avg finish |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hockenheimring | 13 | 3 | 3 | 5.3 |
| Monza | 13 | 3 | 4 | 4.1 |
| Gilles Villeneuve | 12 | 3 | 5 | 3.6 |
| Enzo e Dino Ferrari | 10 | 2 | 4 | 3.3 |
| Nelson Piquet | 9 | 2 | 4 | 3.8 |
| Hungaroring | 6 | 2 | 3 | 3.8 |
| Paul Ricard | 9 | 1 | 4 | 3.6 |
| Zandvoort | 8 | 1 | 3 | 3.4 |
| Adelaide | 7 | 1 | 3 | 2.5 |
| Brands Hatch | 6 | 1 | 3 | 3 |
| Detroit | 6 | 1 | 2 | 3.3 |
| Long Beach | 5 | 1 | 2 | 4 |
| Suzuka | 5 | 1 | 1 | 6.8 |
| Juan y Oscar Gálvez | 3 | 1 | 2 | 1.5 |
| Monaco | 13 | 3 | 4.2 | |
| Red Bull Ring | 10 | 4 | 3 | |
| Silverstone | 9 | 2 | 3.9 | |
| Estoril | 8 | 2 | 4.4 | |
| Spa-Francorchamps | 7 | 1 | 4.2 | |
| Kyalami | 6 | 1 | 4.7 | |
| Hermanos Rodríguez | 6 | 1 | 5.8 | |
| Zolder | 5 | 7 | ||
| Jerez | 5 | 6.7 | ||
| José Carlos Pace | 4 | 5.5 | ||
| Dijon-Prenois | 4 | 1 | 3.5 | |
| Phoenix | 3 | 1 | 3.5 | |
| Jarama | 2 | – | ||
| Watkins Glen | 2 | 8 | ||
| Caesars Palace | 2 | 5 | ||
| Nürburgring | 2 | 1 | 3 |