Formula One drivers from Brazil Formula One drivers from Brazil There have been 31 Formula One drivers from Brazil including three world champions. Ayrton Senna, the three-time title winner, is regarded by many as the best driver in the history of Formula One. Nelson Piquet also won the title three times and Emerson Fittipaldi was a two-time winner. Rubens Barrichello holds the record for the most races contested and finished as the championship runner-up in two seasons. Following the retirement of Felipe Massa after the 2017 season, in 2018 there were no Brazilian drivers entered for the World Championship, the first time this had occurred
Nelson Piquet Jr. the race. In Spain he finished 12th. Later, at the 2009 German Grand Prix, Piquet out-qualified his teammate for the first time. However, following the 2009 Hungarian Grand Prix, he still had not scored any points in the season. On 3 August 2009 Piquet confirmed that he had been dropped by Renault. He hit out hard at his former manager and team boss Flavio Briatore calling him his 'executioner' and questioning Briatore's general Formula One knowledge. Piquet also said the Renault boss favoured teammate Fernando Alonso. Renault's test and reserve driver Romain Grosjean replaced Piquet for the rest of the