Nelson Piquet prized as a good player but not thought sufficiently exciting for the sport, which led him to devote his career to motor racing. Piquet dropped out of a University two years into an engineering course in 1974. He was subsequently employed in a garage to finance his career, since he had no financial support from his family Upon returning to Brazil, Piquet and three friends brought a 20 hp cart and participated in Brazilian go-karting (1971 and 1972 national champion) and in the local Formula Super Vee 1976 championship, on the advice of Emerson Fittipaldi, the first Brazilian Formula One
Ricardo Rodríguez (racing driver) Ricardo Rodríguez (racing driver) Ricardo Valentín Rodríguez de la Vega (14 February 1942 – 1 November 1962) was a Mexican racing driver who competed in the 1961 and 1962 Formula One seasons. His elder brother, Pedro, was also a noted racing driver who had much success in sports car racing and Formula One. Also, at 19 years and 208 days old when first racing for them at the 1961 Italian Grand Prix, he became the youngest Formula One driver ever to race for Ferrari, a title he still holds today. Rodríguez was born in Mexico City and was a child