Piquet's parents separated soon after he was born. He lived in Monaco with his Dutch mother, Sylvia Tamsma, until he was eight years old. He then moved to 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." Piquet has two sisters, Kelly and Julia, and four brothers, Geraldo, Laszlo, Pedro and Marco. He lived in Brasília and attended the American School of Brasília. When he was 16 years old, he decided to pursue his racing career full-time.