“Nelson Piquet: Career at Glance”
His critics accused him of being a guileful competitor, sadly the sort of talent that had distinguished contemporaries like Ayrton Senna and Alain Prost. He owned to being somewhat lethargic but participated enthusiastically in suggesting modifications for his cars. He was sometimes calculating and mean, and on other occasions, likable and humorous. He did never attain massive acclaim yet was utterly indifferent to popularity. For the only thing that mattered to Nelson Piquet above all else, was to have a race car to drive, a race car he could drive to victory.
Born to a well known Brazilian government minister on August 17, 1952, Nelson Sautomaior adopted his mother’s maiden name Piquet to make a secret of his initial race driving stunts from his less than enthusiastic parents. Being a local tennis champion himself, the young Brazilian’s father was enthusiastic about seeing his son follow his footsteps into the sport. Piquet did not disappoint and by the age of 12 he was amongst the country’s most talented lot of emerging junior stars. When their son turned sixteen, Piquet’s parents decided to send him off to a tennis academy in California, so he could further sharpen his skill at the sport. However, Piquet had some other plans. Inspired by the mounting success of Brazilian driver Emerson Fittipaldi, the teenager soon discovered that racing cars would always be his first passion. Soon Piquet was racing across his native city of Brasilia and had notched up a number of kart and sports-car racing accolades. Yet this was not enough to wash away his parent’s disapproval for Piquet’s chosen career and they attempted in vain to drive their son away from the racing circuit by enlisting him for college. By 1997, the Brazilian had abandoned his education, bargained his road car for a Formula Vee and had been crowned Brazilian champion in that sphere.
Under the mentor-ship of countryman Emerson Fittipaldi, Piquet flew across to Europe in 1977 to initiate a career in Formula Three series. In 1978 his triumph at one of British F3 series won him the attention of several Formula One teams including Ensign, McLaren and Brabham. The Brazilian finally signed up with Bernie Ecclestone’s Brabham in 1979 as a protégé of veteran driver Niki Luada. After Luada’s exit from Formula One at the close of the 1979 season, Piquet was elevated to the position of first choice driver and in the following 1980 season proved that he was every bit worth the billing by triumphing on three occasions.
In 1981, Piquet continued to shine and put on a series of dazzling displays on his way to seizing the World Championship crown with his highly up-to-the-mark Brabham BT49. The Brazilian remarked: “Winning is a feeling which you cannot imagine.” The coming season would see Piquet’s ambitions become increasingly frustrated by the incompetence of his car’s BMW turbo engine, yet in spite of the difficulties, the South American managed to win that year’s Canadian Grand Prix. The 1983 season saw Piquet record another championship title after fighting it out with Renault’s Alain Prost throughout the year.
Disappointed with the less-than-flourishing 1984 and ’85 seasons at Brabham and unable to persuade Bernie Ecclestone to raise his compensation, the Brazilian made a switch to Williams in 1986. Piquet’s two seasons at Williams-Honda were highlighted by a bitter rivalry he developed with teammate Nigel Mansell. It was a conflict the Brazilian was eventually able to triumph at in 1987 after clinching his third driver’s championship at Mansell’s expense. However some skeptics argued Piquet’s unwillingness to make a meaningful contribution to the media front of motor-sport meant he was an unworthy world champion. The Brazilian responded by remarking: “What do they mean by that? Do they mean doing a lot of publicity? I don’t want to make friends with anybody…I just want to win.” From then on however, the South American’s Formula One career gradually sank into obscurity and in 1992, he finally bid farewell to the sport. Since then, Piquet has embarked on several entrepreneurship projects in his native Brazil with considerable success.
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