Nelsinho Piquet |
|
| Date of Birth: | July 25, 1985 |
| Place of Birth: | Heidelberg (Germany) |
| Nationality: | Brazilian |
| Current team: | Renault |
| F1 debut: | 2008 Australian Grand Prix |
| Status: | - |
Formula Three Sudamericana
Piquet's racing career started in 1993 in Brazilian karting, where he would stay until 2001 when he moved to Formula Three Sudamericana. His father's wealth enabled him to race for his own team, a practice he continued until he left GP2 Series. He raced in part of the 2001 season there, staying for 2002 and becoming the champion with four races to go. In 2002 he also raced one race of Brazilian Formula Renault.
In 2003, Piquet moved to the UK where he joined the British Formula 3 Championship and formed the Piquet Sports team. He went on to win 3rd place with six wins, five podiums and eight pole positions. In 2004, Piquet won the British Formula 3 Championship. He became the youngest driver to have ever won the championship at 19 years and 2 months. He also went to test for BMW Williams now Williams F1.
In 2005, Piquet took part in the A1 Grand Prix for A1 Team Brazil. In the first event in the series, he took first place in both Sprint and Main race events, as well as scoring a point for the fastest lap. He also became a driver for HiTech/Piquet Sports in the GP2 Series. He was also testing for BAR-Honda. In 2006, Piquet gained second place in the championship to British driver Lewis Hamilton in his second year of GP2.