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 Jr. the 2009 season. After losing his drive, it emerged that he had, under instruction from senior members of the team, crashed deliberately at the 2008 Singapore Grand Prix to help his teammate, Fernando Alonso, win the race. The resulting scandal became one of the most significant in motor sport history, and ultimately saw a permanent end to Piquet Junior's career in Formula 1. Piquet also finished runner-up in the 2007 GP2 Series, fourth in the 2014 Global Rallycross Championship, and seventh in the 2012 NASCAR Truck Series. Piquet Jr., born in Heidelberg, West Germany, is the son of three-time Formula