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Nelson Piquet in Formula 1
From 1978 to 1991, Nelson Piquet lined up for 205 Formula 1 races and gathered 23 wins and 60 podiums. Every season appears in the table with team, wins and points.
Quick answer: Nelson Piquet was Formula 1 world champion in 1981, 1983, 1987, with 205 starts, 23 wins and 60 podiums between 1978 and 1991. The table below shows every season.
Nelson Piquet season by season
| Year | Team | Races | Wins | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1978 | Ensign / McLaren / Brabham | 5 | 0 | 0 |
| 1979 | Brabham-Alfa Romeo / Brabham-Ford | 15 | 0 | 3 |
| 1980 | Brabham | 14 | 3 | 54 |
| 1981 | Brabham | 15 | 3 | 50 |
| 1982 | Brabham | 14 | 1 | 20 |
| 1983 | Brabham | 15 | 3 | 59 |
| 1984 | Brabham | 16 | 2 | 29 |
| 1985 | Brabham | 16 | 1 | 21 |
| 1986 | Williams | 16 | 4 | 69 |
| 1987 | Williams | 16 | 3 | 76 |
| 1988 | Team Lotus | 16 | 0 | 22 |
| 1989 | Team Lotus | 15 | 0 | 12 |
| 1990 | Benetton | 16 | 2 | 44 |
| 1991 | Benetton | 16 | 1 | 26.5 |
Career totals
| Races | Wins | Podiums | Points | Titles |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 205 | 23 | 60 | 485.5 | 3 |
Nelson Piquet's milestones
Between the 1978 German Grand Prix, held at Hockenheimring, and the 1991 Australian Grand Prix, Nelson Piquet (Brazil) built the whole career. The first win came at the 1980 United States Grand Prix West. It added up to 205 starts spread over 33 circuits in 19 countries, at 2.4 points per start. Nelson Piquet won the world title 3 times, in 1981, 1983, 1987. The most worn colours were those of Brabham, for 91 races.
The points peak came in 1987, with 76. From the debut in 1978 to the last season in 1991, every year in the table above has its own page; the titles of the period sit with the Formula 1 world champions.
Source: jolpica-f1 historical archive (Apache 2.0 license), successor to Ergast, snapshot of 2026-07-09. This site is independent and not affiliated with Formula One or any team, driver or circuit mentioned.
Last updated: · Methodology and sources