High Quality Content by WIKIPEDIA articles! Nelson Piquet Souto Maior (Portuguese pronunciation: , born August 17, 1952), known as Nelson Piquet, is a Brazilian former racing driver. He was Formula One world champion in 1981, 1983 and 1987. He is one of eight drivers to win three or more world championships, the others being Jack Brabham, Jackie Stewart, Niki Lauda, Ayrton Senna (3 each), Alain Prost (4), Juan Manuel Fangio (5), and Michael Schumacher (7). In 1983, he became the only driver to win the F1 championship in a BMW engined car.