F1 Canadian Grand Prix: 5 Most Successful Drivers of all time

Lewis Hamilton (left) and Michael Schumacher both excelled in Canada, but who has the most wins?
Lewis Hamilton (left) and Michael Schumacher both excelled in Canada, but who has the most wins?

#3 Nelson Piquet (3)

Nelson Piquet got a surprise final F1 win in Canada in 1991
Nelson Piquet got a surprise final F1 win in Canada in 1991

Nelson Piquet is a driver who is often overlooked when analysing the greats and it's a mystery as to why as the Brazilian has an excellent win record, 23 in total. 3 of those victories came in Canada and these were strange years in which he didn't win the world championship, perhaps being somewhat of a bad omen for him.

In 1982, Piquet headed a Brabham 1-2 after starting 4th in the wake of Riccardo Paletti's fatal accident. Nelson repeated the feat two years later, brilliantly fending off eventual champion Niki Lauda, one of just four races that season that wasn't won by McLaren.

1984 was incredibly impressive, but the most surprising win of Piquet in Canada came in his final season in 1991. Nigel Mansell had dominated the race and led by around 45 seconds on the final lap. This was a huge margin and Red 5 thought he'd show his appreciation to the crowd by waving at several corners.

In what was a classic example of counting your chickens before they hatch, Mansell stalled his car at the hairpin due to his lower speed and went no further. Piquet flew past and took the chequered flag - his final F1 win - and had absolutely no sympathy for his former teammate.

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