Ayrton Senna
Brazilian · 1984–1994
VS

Nelson Piquet
Brazilian · 1978–1991
Race H2H
81 — 44
125 shared
Qualifying H2H
92 — 32
124 shared
Championship record
3
World titles
3
2
Runner-up
1
6
Top-3 finishes
6
P1
Best championship
P1
Finished ahead in the standings: 5 · 3
1984 P5 1985 P4 1986 P3 1987 P1 1988 P1 1989 P2 1990 P1 1991 P1
Career totals
Ayrton Senna Nelson Piquet
Championships
3
3
Wins
41
23
Poles
65
24
Podiums
80
60
Fastest laps
0
0
Career points
614
485.5
Starts
161
205
Rate-adjusted · per start
Ayrton Senna Nelson Piquet
Win rate
25.5%
11.2%
Podium rate
49.7%
29.3%
Pole rate
40.4%
11.7%
Points / start
3.8
2.4
Avg grid
P3.1
P6.7
Avg finish
P8.1
P9.8
Finish rate
68.9%
61%
Rates reward peak form; totals reward longevity. Avg grid/finish: lower is better.
Why they retired
Ayrton Senna Nelson Piquet
Mechanical retirements
30
51
Crash retirements
20
28
Classified from the finishing status. Mechanical covers car failures, crash covers accidents, collisions and damage — fewer is better on both. Retirements with an unclear cause: 0 · 1
Milestones & racecraft
1984
Debut season
1978
1985 · aged 25
First win
1980 · aged 27
1985
First pole
1980
1988 · aged 28
First title
1981 · aged 29
P1
Best finish
P1
-5.0
Avg places gained
-3.1
Season points trajectory
1978 1980 1982 1984 1986 1988 1990 1992 1994
Ayrton Senna Nelson Piquet
Final points each season — scoring systems changed over the eras.
Track by track
Circuit Ayrton Senna Nelson Piquet
W · Pod · Best W · Pod · Best
Circuit de Monaco 6 · 8 · P1 0 · 3 · P2
Hockenheimring 3 · 6 · P1 3 · 3 · P1
Hungaroring 3 · 7 · P1 2 · 3 · P1
Autodromo Nazionale di Monza 2 · 5 · P1 3 · 4 · P1
Autodromo Enzo e Dino Ferrari 3 · 5 · P1 2 · 4 · P1
Circuit Gilles Villeneuve 2 · 2 · P1 3 · 5 · P1
Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps 5 · 6 · P1 0 · 1 · P3
Detroit Street Circuit 3 · 3 · P1 1 · 2 · P1
Adelaide Street Circuit 2 · 3 · P1 1 · 3 · P1
Suzuka Circuit 2 · 4 · P1 1 · 1 · P1
Autódromo Internacional Nelson Piquet 0 · 1 · P2 2 · 4 · P1
Autódromo José Carlos Pace 2 · 3 · P1 0 · 0 · P5
Phoenix street circuit 2 · 2 · P1 0 · 1 · P3
Circuito de Jerez 2 · 2 · P1 0 · 0 · P4
Autódromo do Estoril 1 · 5 · P1 0 · 2 · P3
Circuit Paul Ricard 0 · 2 · P2 1 · 4 · P1
Silverstone Circuit 1 · 3 · P1 0 · 2 · P2
Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez 1 · 4 · P1 0 · 1 · P2
Brands Hatch 0 · 2 · P2 1 · 3 · P1
Circuit Park Zandvoort 0 · 1 · P3 1 · 3 · P1
Red Bull Ring 0 · 1 · P2 0 · 4 · P2
Kyalami 0 · 2 · P2 0 · 1 · P3
Dijon-Prenois 0 · 0 · — 0 · 1 · P3
Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya 0 · 1 · P2 0 · 0 · P11
Nürburgring 0 · 0 · — 0 · 1 · P3
Circuit de Nevers Magny-Cours 0 · 1 · P3 0 · 0 · P8
Zolder 0 · 0 · P6 0 · 0 · P5
Fair Park 0 · 0 · — 0 · 0 · —
Team history
Ayrton Senna
TEA
MCL
Toleman 1984Team Lotus 1985–1987McLaren 1988–1993Williams 1994
Nelson Piquet
BRA
McLaren 1978Brabham 1978Ensign 1978Brabham-Ford 1979Brabham-Alfa Romeo 1979Brabham 1980–1985Williams 1986–1987Team Lotus 1988–1989Benetton 1990–1991
19781994
Ayrton Senna → Nelson Piquet → Compare others
Basis

Head-to-head counts races where both drivers were classified, compared by final position (post-penalty). Teammate section counts only seasons in the same car. Career totals mirror the source data. Data: Jolpica-F1 (CC BY-NC-SA 4.0).