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Nelson Piquet Souto Maior (Rio de Janeiro, 17 August 1952) is a Brasilian former racing driver, winner of 3 Formula World Champion.


Nelson Piquet was one of the most successful drivers of all time and the only Brazilian alongside Senna to have won a Formula 1 World Championship 3 times. A joker, a "ladies man" and very popular with F1 fans, he was a talented driver, with a non-aggressive but balanced driving style.


Nelson Piquet took part in 204 Formula 1 Grand Prix, obtaining 23 victories, 24 pole position, 23 fastest laps and 485.5 career points, 481.5 of which valid for the placements; He classified in the first six 100 times (60 times of them on the podium), and he started in first line 43 times.


Steering Wheels:

  • In 1981, a steering wheel designed by MOMO for British racing car manufacturer Brabham became the faithful companion of the great Brazilian driver. He made a name for himself by winning the 1981 Formula One World Championship behind the wheel of the Ford engine powered Brabham Bt49.

  • In 1988, the year he used this steering wheel, he had just passed from Williams to Lotus, with whom he had a good season. He climbed onto the podium three times, finishing 3rd at the Brazilian, San Marino and Australian Grands Prix respectively.

  • In 1989, Piquet was still racing for Lotus and this steering wheel in our collection comes from that very season. Unfortunately, the engine used by Lotus, the Judd V8, was not as powerful as those the major teams used for their cars and this greatly affected Piquet and team-mate Satoru Nakajima's performances. Nonetheless, the Brazilian managed to win 12 championship points thanks to three 4th places, a 5th and a 6th place (at the Canadian, British, Japanese, German and Hungarian Grands Prix respectively).

  • In 1990, the three-time world champion moved to Benetton, where he would enjoy a remarkable season, thanks also to the car's performance: the Benetton B189B and the Benetton B190 which had this steering wheel in our collection. The Brazilian managed 3 podium finishes and, together with other placings that earned him a host of championship points (44 in total), he managed to finish 3rd in the driver standings.

  • In 1991, his last year in Formula 1, Piquet had a fine season driving the Benetton B190B and B191 that were excellent cars just like those of the previous year. Three times on the podium, including a victory (Canadian Grand Prix) and 5 placings worth 10 points, the ace ended the season with 26.5 points, good enough for 6th place in the driver standings.


(Source: Wikipedia; Formula1.com)