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 wrong in his comments about Ferrari (saying that at 90, Enzo Ferrari had to be a strong man to run a Formula One team), and that he considered Prost to be the world's best driver. Piquet had a dismal 1989 season, driving a Judd V8-powered Lotus which had 125 less hp than the Honda V10s used by McLaren. He (and teammate Satoru Nakajima) once again had no wins and they both even failed to qualify for the 1989 Belgian Grand Prix, Piquet's first non-qualification since the 1982 Detroit Grand Prix. On what was his last attempt to qualify at Spa,