Nelson Piquet is probably the most misunderstood - and underrated - of all world champion racing drivers. MARK HUGHES demystifies the enigma
Nelson Piquet. Senior. A triple world champion; winner of 23 grands prix. A great driver, one of the smartest ever to have sat on an F1 grid. So his former team- mate, Niki Lauda, was shocked to the core when Nelson told him he didn't expect to survive his racing career.
It's true that he'd entered F1 when the grim statistics told you it was still lethally dangerous, though it was less so by the time he left 13 years later. But why would an intelligent man, once he'd secured his titles and his fortune, have ploughed on season after season waiting for that horrible moment?