Nelson Angelo Piquet
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Nelson Angelo Piquet (born July 25, 1985, Heidelberg, Germany), also Nelson Piquet Junior or Nelsinho Piquet, is a Brazilian race car driver. He is the son of former Formula One world champion Nelson Piquet, one of Brazil's all-time successful F1 drivers. In the 2005 and 2006 seasons he raced in the GP2 Series, taking a win in Belgium in 2005 and claiming 2nd place in the series in 2006. He has been signed as test driver for Renault for the 2007 season.
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[edit] Personal Details
- Place of Birth: Heidelberg, Germany
- Place of Residence: Oxford, United Kingdom
- Nationality:
Brazilian
His parents separated soon after he was born and he lived in Monaco with his Dutch mother until he was eight years old when he moved to live in Brazil with his father. "They kind of swapped me. My mother wanted me to get to know my father, she wanted me to know Brazil and the language, and she realised life in Brazil would be better for a child." [1] He has a sister called Julia.
[edit] Racing career
Piquet's racing career started in 1993 in Brazilian karting, where he would stay until 2001 when he moved to South American Formula Three. His father's wealth enabled him to race for his own team, a practice he continues to the present day. 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 also was a test driver for BAR-Honda.
In 2006, Piquet gained second place in the championship to British driver Lewis Hamilton in his second year of GP2.
On 6 September 2006, he was confirmed as a 2007 test driver for the Renault Formula One team.[2]
[edit] F1 Testing
Piquet will soon begin full time testing with Renault, which could well act as a springboard to a Formula 1 race drive.
[edit] Racing Record
| Season | Competition | Team Name | No. | Races | Poles | Wins | Points | Final Placing |
| 2003 | British Formula 3 | Piquet Sports | - | 12 | 8 | 6 | 231 | 3rd |
| 2004 | British Formula 3 | Piquet Sports | - | 24 | 5 | 6 | 282 | 1st |
| 2005 | GP2 Series | HiTech/Piquet Sports | 03 | 23 | 0 | 1 | 46 | 8th |
| 2006 | GP2 Series | Piquet Sports | 11 | 20 | 5 | 4 | 102 | 2nd |
