Formula 3 Sudamericana Formula 3 Sudamericana Formula 3 Sudamericana was a South American Formula Three championship. It was inaugurated in 1987 and primarily held races in Brazil and Argentina, with a small number of events held in other countries across the continent. Its most notable graduates include former Formula One drivers Nelson Piquet, Jr., Ricardo Zonta and Christian Fittipaldi, three-time Indianapolis 500 winner Hélio Castroneves, and Champ Car champion and former F1 driver Cristiano da Matta. The series was replaced for 2014 by the Brazilian Formula Three Championship, which focuses on Brazilian circuits and drivers. Prior to the creation in 1987 of a
Nelson Piquet of points, allowing Alain Prost to win one of the closest and most fiercely disputed championships ever in Formula One. The season began well with Piquet dominating the Brazilian Grand Prix and at the next the race, the San Marino Grand Prix, Piquet finished second behind Prost. During the season, fellow Brazilian and former dual-World Champion Emerson Fittipaldi estimated that Piquet could not commit more driving errors early in the season when he was judged as the best driver in the field. Piquet (and reportedly Honda) left Adelaide following the Australian Grand Prix fuming that Williams had not honoured their